Reese Kaplan -- Time for the Mets to Catch a Break

It was Casey Stengel credited with saying, "You have to have a catcher because if you don't you're likely to have a lot of passed balls."

 

With the Mets having paid farewell to Wilson Ramos, Robinson Chirinos and Rene Rivera, that leaves the injured Tomas Nido as pretty much the only option behind the dish.  Nido has been renowned more for his glove and arm than his bat throughout his minor league career.  As a farmhand his offensive accolade was his 2016 season in high A when he did manage to hit .320 over the course of .344 ABs with 7 HRs and 46 RBIs.  That almost piqued interest among management and fans, but he reverted quickly to his anemic efforts and his four trials at the big leagues from 2017 through 2020 left him below the Mendoza line at .197.  This past season he was a bit better hitting .292 but that was only over the course of 24 ABs, so that could simply be written off as having a good week or so.  

 

So where does that leave the new Steve Cohen Mets as they prepare for the 2021 season and beyond?  I have no problem with Nido being kept around as a backup but he hasn't shown nearly enough yet to think he could handle the front line responsibilities except in a dire emergency.  His defensive skills are good but not at that Johnny Bench or Jerry Grote level that you could justify having the man don the gear every day for what he'd contribute to the pitching and against the base stealing.

 

Of course, everyone's favorite target now and for the past few years has been former Marlin and Phillie J.T. Realmuto who is as close as you can get in the game today to an all around contributor on the field and with the bat.  There's no arguing with his ability offensively.  He's a .278 career hitter and in his first full season in Philadelphia he hit .275 with a career high 21 HRs and a career high 83 RBIs.  For that effort he was rewarded with his second straight All Star Game appearance, his second straight Silver Slugger Award and his first ever Gold Glove.  You can't deny his abilities.  

 

There are a few issues with Realmuto that immediately come to mind.  First, there's the salary.  Projections for him are in the $25 million per season range for five years.  While $125 million wouldn't be the highest salary the Mets ever granted, it's not chump change.  Joe Mauer was once given an eight year $184 million contract by the Twins that never paid off for them.  A lot of people use Paul Goldschmidt's recent St. Louis Cardinals contract as a comp where he was awarded a five year deal for $130 million ($26 million per season).  The big difference between Goldschmidt and Realmuto is abuse on the body.  Catchers not named Yadier Molina tend not to age very well.  Their careers tend to spiral downhill rather quickly and they miss a lot of time due to rest and injury recovery.  If he was willing to accept a Goldschmidt contract, would it be a good buy for the Mets?

 

My thinking is probably not.  He is a top all around player but entering the latter part of his career.  I would have confidence that in years 1-3 he would likely perform at a good level but I am far less confident in years 4 and 5.  If you were really set on Realmuto as the long term solution, then I would pitch him a front-loaded deal with more money up front and less towards the end.  That approach would allow you to trade him away or cut him loose in those final years if his health or ability suggest he's no longer a cog in the lineup . After all, he's playing the toughest position in the game and it's probably smarter to hook up with another catcher for a shorter term until Francisco Alvarez is ready for the majors.  The problem is that Alvarez played this past season as a 17 year old and it's highly unlikely he would be asked to catch in the majors until at least age 21.  

 

Towards that end I would be looking at other catching options like James McCann who earned $5.4 million as a backup for the White Sox last year after turning in his second consecutive competent year with the bat while also delivering better defense than Realmuto.  He wouldn't earn very much and likely wouldn't command more than 2-3 years at most.

 

Other options exist out there like the Royals' excellent catcher Salvador Perez.  The problem again is health and cost.  Perez has missed a lot of time due to injuries and although he's a six-time All Star with multiple Silver Sluggers, he is entering the final year of his contract with Kansas City at $14.1 million.  You have no guarantee he would stick around after that and he would likely desire a much bigger paycheck given his accomplishments and multiple seasons in the high 20s in HRs.  

 

It is incumbent upon whomever is the new Mets GM to explore all possibilities, not just the ones that grab the headlines.  The pitching for the Mets is weak and a strong catcher would help immensely.  We all saw what happened with a bat-first catcher the past two seasons.  It wasn't pretty.  Let's look at the defensive side of the game first and see who's out there.