The New York Mets did not do much to address their catching position this offseason, leading many to project the same backstop from last year to return in 2020.
Brodie Van Wagenen has given Wilson Ramos a vote of confidence throughout this winter, leaving no questions as to who will be the starting catcher on Opening Day. However, the same can’t be said for Tomas Nido as the backup.
Nido, 25, has been advertised as the “backup catcher of the future” for some time due to his great skills as a defensive catcher. His strike rate of 50.7% ranks Nido in the top 74 percentile of all catchers and his 1.93 second pop time is the fifth-best mark in the MLB.
While he has proven to be everything the Mets thought he would be behind the plate, Nido’s defense has not been able to overshadow his extreme deficiencies as a hitter.
Last year marked Nido’s second-straight campaign below the Mendoza line as he hit .191/.231./.316, with a paltry .547 OPS. Nido had just nine extra-base hits, with four home runs, as his lack of power really mitigates any offensive value.
With that being said, the advanced metrics aren’t kind to Nido, as evidenced by his 40 wRC+. That mark has Nido tied with fellow catchers Meibrys Viloria and Sandy Leon for the eighth-worst wRC+ in ALL of baseball among hitters with at least 140 plate appearances.
For more context, Zack Wheeler (53 wRC+) and Jacob deGrom (52 wRC+) each posted better marks than Nido last season.
Nido has shown some offensive promise throughout his minor league career, where he hit .261/.303/.378 across 1,864 plate appearances. In Spring Training, Nido needs to prove that he can be something close to the .682 OPS player he was in the minors. Otherwise, his place on the major league roster is in jeopardy.
The one move the Mets did make to address their backstop this offseason was to re-sign Rene Rivera to another minor league contract. Like Nido, Rivera has proven to be a solid defensive catcher in the past and has a great rapport with Noah Syndergaard.
While Rivera is not known for his bat either, he does have the ability to run into some home runs with his power. Across 128 games played with the New York Mets in his career, Rivera has hit 15 home runs and 52 RBIs.
Last season, Rivera played 98 games with the Syracuse Mets in Triple-A and hit .254/.319/.501, with 25 home runs and 73 RBIs. While the 36-year-old does not represent a long-term solution for the Mets, Rivera’s power may be enough to earn him a spot on the roster.
Finally, the dark horse to win the backup catching job is fellow defensive specialist Ali Sanchez. The 23-year-old prospect has spent six years in the Mets farm system and was just added to their 40-man roster this offseason.
As the Grapefruit League begins on Saturday, there should absolutely be an open competition to see who breaks camp and is part of the Opening Day roster. If Nido doesn’t show some improvement offensively, he could be the odd man out.
