Omar Narváez. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

The New York Mets have had issues at the catcher position for over a decade. This offseason, the team decided to move on from James McCann and sign veteran Omar Narváez to platoon alongside Tomás Nido. Extremely early returns show that may have been a terrific move.

To be fair, the bar was set extremely low. Last season, McCann posted a -0.1 WAR and an OPS+ of 55. Nido, on the other hand, was solid, but it was clear the Mets needed to upgrade the position. Through two starts, Narváez, the former Brewers’ backstop, is 3-for-7 with two RBIs and a walk. He also caught both of the Mets’ victories, and, in each game, he flashed his superb ability to frame pitches. Interestingly enough, through three days of the season, he ranks in the league’s 100th percentile in framing, per Baseball Savant.

On Saturday, Narváez’s sacrifice fly in the second inning started the scoring and left the bat at nearly 100 mph (98.3 to be exact). Later in the game, he hit a single that came off the bat at 103.1 mph. Narváez was also very close to picking up a third RBI, but Starling Marte was forced out at third base in an extremely close play. So, thus far, he is putting the ball in play, and has hit it pretty hard. Which is a great early sign for someone who struggled offensively last season (.597 OPS).

The 31-year-old is only two years removed from an All-Star 2021 campaign where he hit .266. He also had a season where he slugged 22 home runs with Seattle in 2019. Further, his defensive acumen is well documented, mainly his ability to frame the ball, as since 2020 he has ranked in the league’s 100th, 70th, and 89th percentile. So, the history of success is there, even offensively.

Again, it is extremely, extremely early in the season, so it would be dangerous to make the assumption that the catcher woes have been fixed. But, the first two games Narváez has played have both went very well. If he can post some type of average production at the plate, as we know the defensive framing ability will be elite, the Mets may have very well found themselves a catching duo that can be more than formidable for this season.