Reese Kaplan -- BVW Has an O-2 Count Last Week

Back when the Mets were formed and they chose a fairly mediocre player named Hobie Landrith as their number one select, manager Casey Stengel famously said, “You have to have a catcher because if you don't you're likely to have a lot of passed balls.”

Picture by Ernest Dove

That thought came to mind with the somewhat surprising decision made by the Mets yesterday to DFA their previous catcher-of-the-future Travis d’Arnaud and promote light hitting Tomas Nido to take his place.  To make this transaction even more curious is that they decided to tender him a $3.7 million contract in the first place coming off Tommy John Surgery, then the statements in the press saying that the door is still open to a reunion with Devin Mesoraco who left in a huff when they chose not to bring him north from Florida.  Mesoraco is currently on the restricted list, so the Mets can allow him back if they so choose.  

This twist would seem to be the second major swing and miss this past week for general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.  First came the decision not to pursue free agent lefty Gio Gonzalez who inevitably signed with the Brewers for a salary of just $2 million plus an achievable additional $2 million in incentives.  Gonzalez had said it came down to the Mets and the Brewers, but he felt that the Brewers were going to give him a more likely chance to pitch in the rotation regularly.  That means that BVW is still squarely behind his predecessor’s mistake, Jason Vargas, though lately (and shockingly) he’s pitched better than pitchers named deGrom, Wheeler and Syndergaard (if not deep into games).  A guy who pitches well for a few innings would seem to be well suited to the bullpen, unless your bullpen has been so rock solid that there’s no room for improvement.  Other than Edwin Diaz (and sometimes Seth Lugo) it would seem there are LOTS of spots up for grabs. 

Now comes this curious spring training decision to spend the Wilpons’ limited payroll dollars on someone still not fully recovered from his injury and the bitter departure of the catcher who almost singlehandedly helped get Jacob deGrom into the history books.  Whomever the Mets install at the backup catcher slot, he’s not likely going to get many ABs with FA Wilson Ramos hitting well as the everyday backstop.

It’s entirely possible that TdA will indeed clear waivers and then be offered the chance to play for Syracuse, but it’s also possible he will go the T.J. Rivera route and leave the organization.  To many people they will mutter, “No great loss!” but others will continue to ponder both what might have been and why they tendered him a contract in the first place.  Is he still not throwing properly?  Is the fear that his slump is forever?  Was it his boneheaded attempt to stretch a single into a double behind 4-0?  Has he been a bad clubhouse presence, grumbling about his lack of playing time?  Is likely some combination of the above, though the defense is probably the lion's share of the issue.

Picture by Ed Delaney

Now in perhaps the most astonishing development of all, all Tomas Nido did as a pinch hitter in Sunday’s game was deliver a 2-run double to raise his average to a looking-up-at-Keon-Broxton .143.  That swing of the bat may have temporarily made BVW feel good about his decision, yet Nido was not brought in for his bat.  It’s clear that BVW swung and missed on TdA and must accept responsibility for two bad decisions during this past week.