Mike Puma of the New York Post is reporting that New York Mets catchers Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud are drawing “significant” trade interest.
Puma notes that one of them could be traded for a backup infielder or outfielder. The Mets currently only have Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo as healthy outfielders on the 40-man roster. Yoenis Cespedes isn’t expected back until possibly July.
Free agent outfielder A.J. Pollock and trade option Mike Minor “are not so likely right now” according to Puma.
Original Post – Dec. 21, 2:51 p.m.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Mets are getting interest from around the league in trading for the services of catcher Kevin Plawecki, and interest has picked up since the signing of Wilson Ramos.
Martino is quoted saying “The Mets are ‘getting a lot of hits’ from other teams on their catchers since signing Wilson Ramos, and are moving ahead with trade talks regarding Kevin Plawecki in particular, according to major league sources.”
Plawecki, 27, hit .210/.315/.370 with 13 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 30 RBI in 79 games for the Mets in 2018. His offense the last two seasons (93 wRC+ in 2018, 107 wRC+ in 2017) has been above average for the catching position.
On the defensive side, Plawecki has seen his defense dip since his debut in 2015 when he had 13.5 fielding runs above average. In 2018, he was at -2.1 FRAA and in the negative for the second straight season.
Plawecki is estimated to make $1.3 million through arbitration this offseason and is under team control through the 2022 season.
The Mets currently have four catchers on the 40-man roster including the aforementioned Plawecki and Ramos as well as the oft-injured Travis d’Arnaud and defensive-minded Tomas Nido.
Martino then goes on to add “According to rival evaluators, a reasonable ask for the Mets would be a second-tier lefty, like a Will Smith or Justin Wilson-type.”
Smith is currently employed by a Giants team looking to shed veteran contracts, and Wilson is sitting on the open market. The Mets are said to be looking for a lefty reliever after already adding closer Edwin Diaz and setup man Jeurys Familia to their revamped bullpen.
