While the focus offensively has been on both Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, Mets catcher Wilson Ramos has provided thump to the lineup that has been missed in recent years.
Hitting in the middle of the lineup, Ramos has produced a .444/.474/.500 (.974 OPS) slash line in his first 18 at-bats. In the second game against the Marlins Tuesday night, Ramos collected two hits in five at-bats, scoring two runs and driving in one.
This has clearly been a short sample, however, Wilson Ramos seems to be a far cry from the previous starting catchers of Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud. Despite dealing with injuries at a higher rate than preferred, Ramos has shown that he is better than average at the plate, hitting .274 with a .758 OPS in his long career. Comparatively, Plawecki has a career slash line of .217/.308/.658 and d’Arnaud .245/.306/.712.
Ramos, 31, also ranked 13 spots ahead of Plawecki this season in FRAA (Framing Runs Above Average) in 2018 while d’Arnaud missed most of last season after getting Tommy John Surgery.
The latter is expected to return from the IL soon as he has caught two full rehab games over the last week, which is a major step in his recovery. Once he returns, he will become the team’s backup catcher behind Ramos and Tomas Nido will almost certainly be sent down.
Nido represents a significant downgrade on the offensive side of things when Ramos can’t play, with a career OPS of .451. However, he is better on the defensive side of things, ranking 24th in all of baseball in FRAA last season.
The hope for the Mets is that Wilson Ramos will be able to stay healthy, as he has only played over 120 games twice in his career. For as long as he is not injured, Ramos will undoubtedly be a big piece of the Mets offense.
