According to what a source told Marc Carig of Newsday, three Mets prospects whose names were kicked around at the Winter Meetings included 2011 first rounder – outfielder Brandon Nimmo, 2012 first rounder – catcher Kevin Plawecki, and currently the team’s top catching prospect Tomas Nido.
Carig believes those prospects could come into play as the Mets evaluate their options in the relief market. It had been reported previously that Sandy Alderson was very open to dealing prospects to acquire that late-inning reliever he is committed to acquiring, especially if trading Jay Bruce fails to bring that caliber of a reliever in trade.
While I have no issues at all in using Nimmo, Plawecki, or even Gavin Cecchini for that matter, to garner us the reliever our bullpen desperately needs with Jeurys Familia looking at a suspension to begin the year, I have some significant reservations about giving up Tomas Nido, who we’ve lauded extensively on MMO over the last 24 months.
It came as no surprise to me and my incredible minor league analysts, to see Nido enjoy one of the best breakthrough performances in the entire Mets system in 2016. We projected him for a breakout performance prior to the season, and he certainly delivered in a most spectacular way.
If you were to ask me for a comp, my response to you would be imagine the offensive profile of a young Paul Lo Duca coupled with the defensive profile of longtime Met Jerry Grote. That’s what Nido could potentially be for the Mets – and thanks to Sandy Alderson’s infinite wisdom, Nido was added to the 40 man roster in November to prevent from losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.
It’s not often that a franchise can produce a catcher who has a mid to high level offensive ceiling while also being equipped with a highly extensive defensive skillset. Two-way catchers like Nido are indeed a rare commodity in today’s game, and to have someone who can potentially be that kind of player in the major leagues in the near future is quite an exciting cogitation.
Nido, only 22, was the Florida State League batting champion this past season, batting .320 and beating out his next closest competitor by 15 points. Nido achieved career highs across several offensive categories in a league that is heralded for being very pitching rich and extremely tough on hitters.
An 8th round pick for the Mets in the 2012 draft, Nido posted a .829 OPS and collected 23 doubles, two triples and seven home runs in just 370 plate appearances, and in addition to his batting title and all-star selection, Nido was also named our MMN Defensive Player of the Year. And guess what? Two months later, Baseball America agreed with us and named him Best Defensive Catcher. He threw out a stunning 42 percent of would-be base stealers in 2016.
So let me conclude by saying that just because a players name often comes up in trade talks, like Nido apparently has, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Mets would trade him. In fact, and this is just my opinion, I bet when teams ask Sandy Alderson about Nido, they get about the same response as when they ask about shortstop prospect Amed Rosario.
Thankfully, we have a GM who knows all about the value of high level prospects who play a position of scarcity, and I have a sneaky suspicion that Sandy Alderson values Tomas Nido just as much as I do. So don’t be shocked when the stories surface that teams wanted Nido this offseason and that Alderson told them he was off limits. You heard that here first.
You can read more on Nido in an MMO Prospect Pulse that Teddy did on him back in August.
