Paul Articulates – Can’t catch a break

At the beginning of every season, there is always some sort of setback.  Teams deal with early season injuries to players that pushed it too hard too fast in spring training, players fail to recover as expected from prior injuries and can’t miss prospects kind of… well, ... miss.

The Mets thought they had their share of these woes when they lost both Sean Manaea (right oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat strain) went down for a couple of months.  Newly acquired utility man Nick Madrigal fractured a shoulder so both the pitching and the hitting suffered blows. 

But then the injury bug hit where it really hurts – Francisco Alvarez broke a hamate bone in his left hand swinging a bat.  Ouch!  

Alvarez was the guy that many expected to have a breakout season this year.  His undeniable promise was shown when he first came up in 2022, but last year was a bit of a setback when he spent several weeks on the sideline with a torn thumb ligament suffered in a base path stumble.  He never really got back to 100%, probably because he tried to come back too soon so his hitting and particularly his power suffered.

Last year around this time I wrote about the plethora of catchers in the Mets’ organization.  We had Omar Narvaez, Tomas Nido, the upcoming Alvarez, prospect Kevin Parada, plus several other solid minor league catchers like Hayden Senger and Matt O’Neill. I wondered what they would do with so many capable backstops.  

Narvaez never played like the guy he was prior to New York, Nido went on his way after Alvarez became the #1 option and Luis Torrens established himself as the top back-up.  Parada has struggled to realize the potential expected of a first round draft pick, and neither Senger nor O’Neill has put together the resume to play full time in the majors.

So now the Mets’ organization is faced with some decisions.  Clearly Torrens has shown the ability to hold the fort as the primary catcher while Alvarez heals.  But who becomes the backup catcher?  Will it be Senger, O’Neill, or Parada?  Will David Stearns have to acquire a backup catcher in a trade or free agent signing?  Will newly acquired Jakson Reetz make a play for the job?  He did hit a grand slam yesterday’s win over the Nationals.  Or will it be Chris Williams who was signed to a minor league deal this year around the same time as Reetz?

There are many moving parts to this decision.  The team has a pretty formidable lineup right now, so I would not expect Stearns to go looking for an offensive catcher.  Rather, the defensive side is more important to the team, particularly with the struggles that the pitching staff has had with holding runners on base. 

Torrens has proven to be a very solid defensive catcher, and at times last year looked stronger against the running game than Alvarez.  Of course few can match the ability Alvarez has shown in calling a game and managing his pitchers.  But for a six to eight week backup, I would think that a good arm and quick pop time would be sufficient.

I am sure that there are plenty of opinions to go around on this one.  My take is that if you truly want a strong defensive catcher to back up Torrens, you either make a deal to get Tomas Nido back or you give Hayden Senger a shot.  

Senger was the Mets’ platinum glove award winner in 2023 as the top defensive catcher in the development system.  The only thing that has held him back from a call-up has been his bat – Senger is a .235 hitter for his minor league career.  But of all the other candidates listed that are currently in the Mets organization, none have hit better than .239 (Reetz) in their MiLB career.

I miss Nido – he was always a player that I enjoyed watching.  But it is not fair to bring him back to the team for a couple months and then leave him languishing in the background for the rest of the season.  My preference is to go with Senger.  What is your opinion?