Neither of the Mets catchers have great batting lines at the moment, but with Travis d’Arnaud coming off the disabled list relatively soon, the competition for the backup job is heating up. For the first time in over a year, Kevin Plawecki‘s status as the top reserve is in jeopardy and Rene Rivera may just snatch it from him.
Plawecki is hitting just .200/.304/.280 on the year while Rivera sits at a slightly better .194/.310/.333. Rivera has come through in a few key moments, racking up some clutch late-game hits that Plawecki has not. Plawecki also made a few bone-headed mistakes this weekend that cost the Mets some runs.
The big difference, though, comes on defense. Rivera has played great defense while Plawecki continues to struggle. He has kept baserunners at bay far more than Plawecki has, throwing out 38% of runners compared to Plawecki’s 28% mark, putting Rivera well above average.
The pitchers seem to be taking a liking to Rivera as well. Despite joining the Mets after spring training, he’s managed to learn the pitchers and their arsenals pretty quickly.
“I’m just looking to get to know them well,” help them out as much as I can back there,” Rivera told reporters recently. “You just have to keep them focused, concentrate on what they want to do, and they’re going to execute their pitches.”
“He’s done a great job with sitting down and getting to know your style of pitching, learn your strengths and weaknesses,” Logan Verrett said. “He does a great job of whenever he calls a certain pitch, he lets you know exactly where he wants it.”
Rivera has caught Matt Harvey his last two outings, which were both fantastic. Pitchers have a sub-two ERA with Rivera behind the plate.
For now, it looks like Plawecki will finally get a much-needed stint in Triple-A while Rivera will take over the backup role.
