Omar Narváez Adds To Mets Crowded Catcher Situation

When it comes to Steve Cohen spending this offseason, anything was on the table. To that extent, there really wasn’t anything that could shock you.

And then, the New York Mets signed Omar Narváez to a one-year, $8 million deal with a $7 million option for 2024.

It’s the type of deal that makes you go, “Huh?” You start to rationalize the signing with the full expectation James McCann or even Tomás Nido was going to be traded posthaste.

However, McCann and Nido are still Mets. The caveat there is it’s still December. Our own Michael Mayer reported that the Mets have been aggressively shopping McCann recently. 

Having the three catchers further blocks Francisco Álvarez’s path to the majors. Álvarez likely would’ve been called up to the majors earlier last season if not for the ankle injury. In any event, he received a (very) late September call-up and made the postseason roster.

Now, you can argue Álvarez should start the season in the minors. Seeing how the New York Yankees mishandled Gary Sánchez, you don’t want to see the Mets repeat many of the same mistakes.

This is a long-winded way of saying the Mets have four catchers on the 40-man roster with Álvarez being forced to Triple-A to start 2023. Again, that is unless another move is made, which you have to imagine will happen sooner rather than later.

Just looking at things at surface value without contemplating anything further, Narváez is a clear upgrade for the Mets. In many ways, he’s what the Mets were hoping to get from McCann when he was signed years ago.

Per Baseball Savant, Narváez is an elite pitch framer. He ranked just ahead of Nido in catcher framing runs last season even if Nido had the superior called strike rate.

Narváez was also the far better hitter. McCann had a 59 wRC+, and Nido had a 74. Narváez, in a down year, had a 71 but is a 101 wRC+ hitter for his career.

Keep in mind, Narváez had a .248 BABIP indicating bad luck. While you may want to point to the elimination of the shift benefiting him, Narváez had a .304 wOBA against the shift as opposed to .228 with no shift.

There is also caution with Narváez having a three-year decline in barrels, exit velocities, hard-hit rate, and walk rate. Still, even with all these warning signs, Narváez has more offensive ability and potential than McCann and Nido.

Looking at the situation, a few things are readily apparent. The Mets do not believe Álvarez is ready to be a full-time catcher at the big league level. The Mets are intent on moving another catcher, but they were not going to miss out on Narváez while that process was playing out.

Again, we need to remember it’s still December. The Mets are likely to make other moves, and in the end, the hope is this signing makes a little more sense than it does today.