Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

In baseball, when one player or group of players struggle, the mantra is usually “next man up” but in this case, it’s more than one man as the New York Mets have gotten production from an unlikely source, during a stretch where other players have struggled to produce.

Over the course of the season, Mets catchers have been relatively quiet on the production front but the last few weeks have shown otherwise, as both James McCann and Tomas Nido have provided a spark from behind the plate with their offense.

The Mets struggled at the beginning of their matchup versus Miami, the team managed to score a collective twenty runs to take the final two games of the series. One of those players to help contribute to the offense was Tomas Nido. He had a big day yesterday, going 3-4, hitting a single, double, home run in the 9th inning and driving in three runs to help the Mets defeat the Marlins 9-3. Yesterday was especially noteworthy because after 85 games and 242 at-bats, Nido turned on a 94 mph fastball off Marlins reliever Tommy Nance up in the zone and over the 410 marker in center field for his first home run of the season in the top of the 9th. Nido’s last home run was on May 25th, 2021, which meant that home run broke a 123 game homer-less streak.

In response, the Mets dugout initially celebrated exuberantly, as Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso celebrated with a high five and slamming the dugout railing in excitement. As Nido came to the dugout, his teammates gave him the traditional cold shoulder for an extended period time before embracing him. He’s seemed to turn on a switch, as in his last seven games and twenty one at-bats in that span, Nido is slashing .381/.391/.714 notching eight hits and five RBI with a walk. As the month of September began, Nido, in fifteen plate appearances, is hitting .286 in four games played so far, including five hits in two games this past weekend versus Miami.

This spurt in offense by the Mets backstop duo is certainly welcomed as players like Pete Alonso, Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf are struggling mightily at the moment. Its not just Nido though that has been the only backstop to turn up the heat for the Mets offensively. The second part of the Mets catching tandem, James McCann has also stepped up and in his last seven games, he’s slashing .300/.417/.400 with six hits, a RBI and a walk. Just like Nido, McCann has also turned it on in the month of September by hitting .400 with six hits in nineteen plate appearances which included four walks, five runs scored, one RBI and surprisingly, one stolen base.

As the season begins to wind down and the race for the playoffs heats up, any production is welcome from anyone and it’s encouraging to see the Mets backstops produce in a time when it is needed the most. Even with certain players struggling, the Mets offense is still one of the best in baseball and if added to that is the beginning of any type of production from Nido and McCann, it will almost certainly propel the team in their race for the division crown and into the postseason. While their offensive numbers aren’t to the level of other players on the roster, the uptick in production from Nido and McCann is seen as a plus to a team that desperately needs all gears in motion in anticipation for a deep playoff run.