Devin Mesoraco Wikipedia
Simple Question - and there's no "catch":
Given that catchers take a beating behind the plate, are you satisfied with going into 2020 as a playoff-hopeful Mets team with a guy who, in his career, has a split in 249 career plate appearances of .187/.222/.291?
And who has throw out just 8 of 63 would-be base stealers?
That's Tomas Nido, and I say that maybe a back up catcher of such caliber would be OK for a losing team like Baltimore or Detroit, where it really doesn't matter.
But it wouldn't be OK for the playoff-focused Mets. Not at all.
Keep in mind that in a season where the Mets missed the playoffs by a mere 3 games, Nido hurt the cause by hitting just .191/.231/.316 in 144 plate appearances, and throwing out just 3 of 37 (EIGHT PERCENT)!!
I wonder if the Mets instead had a back up catcher guy in 2019 with the same number of plate appearances as Nido, who hit .230/.290/.370 and threw out (let's say) 12 of 37 runners, if it would have allowed the Mets to squeak into the playoffs instead of just missing them?
Decisions like these truly matter.
Wilson Ramos was quite sturdy in 2019, with 524 plate appearances in 141 games and a .288/.351/.416 split, 3rd in games played and plate appearances by a catcher in all of baseball in 2020. Kind of hard to repeat, I'd say.
Ramos' numbers were superior to Nido's results by a country mile: .097/.120/.100.
That is simply a huge production gap between Ramos and Nido.
What if Ramos gets hurt in 2020 and only plays 100 games? Only 14 catchers played more than 110 games in 2019.
What then?
Nido for 300 + plate appearances? Scary, scary thought, if his production were not to somehow drastically increase.
A lot of us were quite unhappy with Kevin Plawecki while he was a Met back up catcher, because he hit just .218/.308/.330 as a Met. A change of scenery to Cleveland did little for him, as he hit .222/.287/.342 in 2019.
He didn't improve offensively...why should we assume Nido would?
And Nido's 2020 would have to increase over his career #'s by 31 points (Average), 82 points (OBP) and 41 points (Slug %) just to equal Plawecki's unacceptable results.
And we were far from thrilled at Plawecki's career 23% base-stealers-caught %, but Nido is 10 points lower at 13%.
And Plawecki in the minors hit .296/.364/.451 career.
Nido in the minors? A far lower .263/.303/.378.
Unless they are expecting a magical increase from Nido offensively in 2020 that Plawecki was unable to achieve in 2019, why should we expect Nido to even hit .200? Or start throwing out 2 or 3 times as many runners?
I don't.
The Mets need a bona fide # 2 catcher. Period.
As a possible 3rd catcher, Ali Sanchez has never hit for power and may hit no better than Tomas Nido, but in the minors, Ali has thrown out 174 of 375 would-be stealers - a stellar 46.4%. He probably could, at age 23, use a full year of hitting in AAA to get his bat to improve more.
But he has steadily improved bat-wise, and could be viable as a catcher for the Mets in 2021 who could, if not be the # 1 catcher, play a lot and be reasonably effective.
Macks Mets Tony Plate suggested a trade for Wilson Contreras - that would be a radically bold move.
One guy who ought to at least be considered is Devin Mesoraco.
He did not play in 2019, giving his body a much-need year off, and hit .222/.306/.409 while hurting for the Mets in 2018, and threw out a weak 21% (partially, I am sure, due to poor pitcher work holding on runners).
Maybe, at age 32, he'd be willing to give it a whirl for one more year. Make a few million.
Or someone else hopefully is still realistically available to be had.
The Mets NEED a viable, effective back up catcher - period.
Tom
ReplyDeleteIsnt there a talent gap between most starters and their backup?
Most, if not all, of the top utility catchers available this year are signed elsewhere.
It is Ramos-Nido in 2020 and a run on Realmuto for 2021
Many were skeptical of bringing in a relatively high priced bat to handle catching duties. Ramos did what he's always done -- contributed to scoring runs and making pitchers shudder. Having a better backup plan is essential as health is typically not one of Ramos' long suits. I might even be induced to trade a Dom Smith for a hot-for-2021 and beyond backup catcher as Wilson Ramos is not likely going to be retained next season.
ReplyDeleteI had to go back and look at Nido's stats to believe how bad they were last season. I wasn't overly concerned about the backup catcher position before, but now I find myself more reluctant to go into 2020 without a veteran catcher in Syracuse waiting in the wings.
ReplyDeleteReese's suggestion that a Dom Smith-for-catcher trade might be a viable one. The Mets have five years of control for Smith - that could be attractive to a team with a catcher just entering his arb years, for example.
Mack, I did what Jack did, look at Nido's record - it is awful. No way of sugar coating it.
ReplyDeletePlawecki has been bad, and is one I always thought would improve - but he hasn't. Nido has been MUCH worse than Plawecki. He may not improve either.
Do not rule out Ali Sanchez. He won't throw out 3 out of 37.
And pray that Ramos stays healthy - or swing a deal for a strong # 2 catcher.
All games lost count - if Nido has to play 60 games? That would be ugly.
Mesoraco may be 100% done - but he shouldn't be overlooked in case he could be wooed back.
Reese, Nido's whole game has made me shudder so far. This team wants to win - they can't have a terrible # 2 catcher and win.
ReplyDeleteMesoraco???? That bridge was burned big time from both sides. He thinks the Mets misled him and the Mets are probably pissed he didnt honor his contract that HIS agent negotiated.
ReplyDeleteIf the Mets do nothing else this offseason they MUST upgrade Nido. This seems like their most glaring weakness and its not even close. Francisco Alvarez might be a better catcher than Nido already. You already have pitchers that don't like throwing to Ramos and your backup simply cant be a guy who can't hit or throw out runners at all.
Dallas, that is true on Mesoraco - very unlikely.
ReplyDeleteHe made a LOT of $$ in his career and may be satisfied not crippling himself by playing more - but last year they had TDA and Nido, hence Mesoraco was surprised when they didn't want to keep him with the club in late March. Time may or may not heal all wounds - especially if there is, say, a $3MM price tag to go along with it.
Short of Ali Sanchez, there is a gaping hole in catching in the Mets minors until you get to rookie ball. I hope Alvarez is the next Juan Soto and ready for 2021, as unlikely as that might be.
Mets would have been smart to keep Mesoraco as a backup last year and let Nido play the full year in AAA to develop. Nido is set up to be this year's Travis d'Arnaud. He is out of options and will get claimed on waivers by another team. People screamed to get rid of d'Arnaud and he did pretty well. Be careful what you wish for. Is it the player or how a team handles them. Look at what Hechevaria did for the Mets and for the Braves...same guy, different results.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you are right. They should have made Mesoraco happen, and let Nido play a full year at AAA.
ReplyDeleteBut d"Arnaud did more than "pretty well". He did GREAT.
Tampa Bay, 327 at bats, 16 HRs and SIXTY SEVEN RBI'S? His RBI rate was as high as Alonso's!
And he threw out 14 of 35 in 2019, while Nido was just 3 of 37.
Tom, also look at who the bases were stolen against. Noah Sydergaard – 42; Jacob deGrom – 24; Jason Vargas – 9; Steven Matz – 9; Marcus Stroman – 3…Zack Wheeler – 6! Nido mostly caught pitchers that did a poor job holding runners on. Yadir Molina would have trouble throwing runners out for those guys.
ReplyDeleteMickey did not use his bench well as shown by Hechevaria and d'Arnaud doing better elsewhere. Pitchers did a bad job limiting stolen bases and the Mets were one of the worst defensive and fundamental teams in baseball. I saw Mickey Jannis make a wild pitch that Nido went abd grabbed and still threw the runner out. Nido's arm is not the problem. Being used correctly is.
Will we see things get better in 2020? Not sure. The best Mets Manager that stressed fundamentals and managed a large and changing roster with only limited appearances by the team's top players and won a championship was not retained. So looks like more of the same.
I think the Mets should stay with the catchers they have going into Spring Training and see how Nido and Sánchez play. Sanchez hit 0.262 in the AFL. I feel maybe if Sánchez does better they go with him and DFA Nido since he has no options. If neither of them seem to be working out then bring in another catcher. They could always bring back Rene Rivera.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets are a foul tip away from having Tomas Nido as their starting catcher. To me, that's completely unacceptable. Most of their pitchers are better hitters than he is, and Sanchez isn't necessarily going to be a better though, though he may throw out more base-stealers. There are three other good teams in this division and EVERY GAME COUNTS. If they make no further moves and Ramos is injured they are potentially giving away games. It could be the difference between going to the the post-season or not. As a very dark horse presidential candidate said many years ago, WE CANNOT STAND PAT.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I hear your reasons for Nido’s unsuccessful throwing out of runners, but 3 for 37 is bad, period.
ReplyDeleteRaw, I agree with Dave Schulps. Start by thinking EVERY GAME COUNTS IN HE WAR OF 2020, as Dave noted, and taking a chance on Nido/Sánchez seems I’ll-advised. A winning team needs more certainty of “better”.
ReplyDeleteTom, It would be a very bad idea to suggest that the Mets bring back Mesoraco, because when he refused to report to AAA in 2019 the Mets put him on the disqualified list as they denied Mesoraco the opportunity to go elsewhere which disappointed Mesoraco. He was only willing to go to AAA with with another club in order to have a path at this point in his career.
ReplyDeleteIt would not be a radically bold move to trade for Wilson Contreras, because his percentage of 31.23 of throwing base runners out trying to steal is better than Wilson Ramos which is 28.00 The Mets catchers have had issues throwing out runners trying to steal in recent years.
ReplyDelete