Photo: Corey Sipkin, NY Post

Major League Baseball is in a fairly hopeless state of affairs. The start of spring training was delayed with no immediate return in sight. But in a time like this, it’s important to remember what the Mets do have, and the team they’ll be going to battle with once negotiations are finally settled. You can’t forget that the Mets recently signed Max Scherzer and Starling Marte, and they still have players like Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.

We’re going to look at the Mets’ depth chart at each position. Today we’ll get one of their weaker positions out of the way: catcher.

Big League Starter

The everyday job belongs to James McCann, as unspectacular as he was in his first year wearing orange and blue. McCann is 31, set to turn 32 during the season.

He had a solid year with the White Sox in 2019 and a powerful 31-game stretch in 2020. But he hit for just a 80 wRC+ with the Mets, posting an OBP under .300. He’s solid behind the plate, but his framing skills left a lot to be desired in 2021. It all amounted to a measly 0.5 fWAR.

Still, he’s the top guy whether the Mets like it or not. If he continues to struggle, he could split some time with the defensive-minded Tomás Nido. He’ll hope to come closer to his 2019 production, when he posted a solid 108 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR.

Big League Depth

Immediately behind McCann is the aforementioned Nido. Although he’s an even weaker hitter than McCann, he provides fantastic defense behind the dish. In 2021, he was in the 100th percentile for framing, according to Baseball Savant.

In short: He’s a worse hitter than McCann, but a better defender. If McCann’s production sinks to Nido’s level, then Nido becomes the better overall option. McCann has higher offensive upside since he’s actually posted a solid season at the major league level before, but there’s obviously no guarantee that McCann will replicate that.

The Mets also have Patrick Mazeika, an unremarkable third-string catcher who provided a few surprisingly fun moments in 2021. To expect him to even be a viable big league backup in the long run would be a stretch though, as he hit .190 with very little power or on-base ability in his short time in New York last year.

The 28-year-old, who has spent the vast majority of his career in the minors, is more likely to be waiting in the wings in Triple-A. But as far as the Mets’ catching depth chart goes, he’s likely third from the top right now.

Upper Levels Depth

Likely to be competing for playing time at the Triple-A level are Nick Dini and Nick Meyer.

Meyer is a name that might be familiar to Mets fans; he’s been with the organization since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He hasn’t hit much in his minor league career, posting a batting line of .215/.288/.269 over three seasons. He made his Triple-A debut with the Syracuse Mets in 2021, hitting .286 with a .362 OBP in 48 plate appearances.

While Meyer is a familiar Nick, Dini is a brand new one. The Mets signed him to a minor league deal in December. The 28-year-old actually has big league experience: 20 games with the Royals in 2019. He owns a solid .290/.348/.441 line over six minor league seasons.

Barring an injury or other unforeseen circumstance, Dini could be a guy the Mets call upon over someone like Mazeika.

Top Prospects

Now, the player you’ve been all waiting for: Francisco Álvarez. The elite catching talent was recently ranked as high as the eighth-best prospect in all of baseball by Keith Law, and as low as 13th by Baseball America. Baseball Prospectus also named him the top prospect in the entire NL East.

He’s still not major league ready, having just recently celebrated his 20th birthday. He’s yet to play above High-A ball, but will almost certainly get a solid chunk of playing time in Double-A this year. He tore the cover off the ball in 15 games in Low-A St. Lucie last season, posting a 1.213 OPS over 67 plate appearances. He went on to bat .247 with 22 home runs and an .889 OPS over 84 games with High-A Brooklyn.

On the less flashy but often overlooked side of things, the Mets have 24-year-old Hayden Senger. Baseball America had him as the Mets’ No. 23 prospect in their 2021 midseason update.

Senger was promoted to Double-A Binghamton in 2021 after hitting .302 with a .605 slugging percentage in 11 games with High-A Brooklyn. He went on to post a decent .723 OPS in 50 games with the Rumble Ponies. He’s no Álvarez, but he’s a catching prospect to keep half an eye on in the minor leagues.

Overall, the Mets’ crop of catchers is pretty thin. The most they can hope for is a strong bounce-back season from McCann. Meanwhile, fans should be excited about Álvarez while also understanding that it’s very unlikely he makes an impact at the big league level this year.