After reports that Noah Syndergaard was “livid” upon hearing Wilson Ramos would be catching for him in Sunday’s game, Mickey Callaway gave the impression in Tuesday’s press conference that the organization’s thought process on the situation hasn’t changed much.
“I want to have Ramos catch as many times as possible and I think that’s what we need as a team,” said Callaway.
Evidenced by his slash line of .405/.441/.559 over his last 111 plate appearances, Ramos has positioned himself as a key cog in the Mets’ lineup which likely is a major contributing factor.
However, Syndergaard had a season-worst start last week with Ramos as catcher, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) on nine hits, three of which were home runs, in a 10-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Sunday’s game ended in another loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, where Syndergaard allowed four earned runs in five innings with Ramos catching.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, Syndergaard sat down with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to convey his frustrations. Callaway said the team will continue to have these internal conversations to understand the team’s point of view.
“Bottom line is we’re always going to try to do what’s best for the team, and I think we’ve done that,” said Callaway. He also denied claims that Syndergaard leaked the news about his tension with Ramos.
Callaway did admit at one point that Syndergaard’s ERA is better with Tomas Nido than with Ramos, but then went on to cite Syndergaard having a better record with Ramos to counter the argument that Nido or Rene Rivera should be behind the plate when “Thor” takes the mound.
For Tuesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks, J.D. Davis is not in the starting lineup, but will be used off the bench. Callaway said Davis may require more rest as he has not played the outfield consistently this season.
“It’s going to come down to timely hitting, good starting pitching, and bullpen,” said Callaway of the team’s strategy as they look to compete for the second Wild Card spot, four games behind the Chicago Cubs.
