New York Mets 2019 Preview – Catcher
March 16, 2019Years ago, catcher was a proud and majestic position. These iron men would don heavy equipment and squat for 2 hours a day for 140 games. They would catch small, hurled projectiles traveling well above 90 miles per hour. Often, catchers would be involved in dangerous collisions with base runners, potentially ending their career on any given play. They also were expected to hold their own with a bat, limping around the bases on shoddy knees and feet. But hey, in the 40s they didn’t make a livable salary, so it was certainly all worth it.
Today, the iron man catcher is all but extinct, except for Salvador Perez, but he’s a Royal, so who cares? Catchers barely crack the 110 games played mark. Some of the important defensive capabilities have been lost over the years. With the advent of analytics, stolen bases have dwindled against all but the worst throwing catchers in the league. Collisions at home plate are now illegal, improving safety for all players. Even the health of the catchers have improved, players no longer spend their entire career there. In fact, if you’re a good hitter, and have any speed, you’re often converted to another position in the minors. Few plus hitters remain beyond the plate past the age of 30. This is a great improvement from the 20th century, which knee tendonitis was treated by “not being a baby about it.”
Do you what the most important skill for a catcher is today? Pitch framing. No seriously, that’s the only thing you read about catchers. Oh, you also read they’re awful in fantasy baseball, but that’s a different conversation. Basically, a catcher’s worth is tied to how much he can deceive an umpire. Now, I’m no expert, but I’ve seen the refs, umpires and officials in sports. It’s not that hard to deceive them. Heck, LeBron James won a finals for convincing people that not being kicked in the nuts was worse than being hit. So yeah, I’m glad an entire position’s worth is determined by cheating. Makes sense.
This includes offense by the way. Gone are the days of the elite offensive catchers. The best ones we currently have are JT Realmuto, the corpse of Buster Posey and the potential corpse of Gary Sanchez. Remember when he was a thing? Nah, neither do I.*
But despite the requirement for a quality catcher devolving to literally “catch a ball,” the Mets somehow produced the worst catching group in the modern era last season. Headlined by Kevin Plawecki, the Mets had approximately 6 hits from the position. In an era where stolen bases no longer exist, the Mets gave them up in bunches, regularly losing games due to the inability to prevent steals. Offensively, this group embarrassed a team that once saw Eric Campbell bat cleanup for a week. When Plawecki didn’t strike out in less than 3 pitches, he was hitting grounders back to the mound. Amazingly, his fly ball percentage was negative for his career.
Travis d’Arnaud didn’t have a chance to disappoint as he was injured again. Tomas Nido provided exactly what the Mets needed to finish the season – a lukewarm body. When Devin Mesoroco was acquired, an irrelevant player for 3 years arrived, we thought he was prime Piazza for a month. Then we remember it was washed up Mesoroco. I’d argue his body wasn’t lukewarm for the second half of the season.
It wasn’t surprising that the team tried to acquire JT Realmuto. The former Marlin is a decent hitter with below average pop. This makes him the greatest offensive catcher of the decade. However, this slightly above average hitter’s value became inflated. Multiple teams got in a bidding war, and for a time, names such as Syndergaard, Rosario, Conforto and Nimmo were in trade rumors. Somehow, the Marlins were getting two of these players for their Catcher. Meanwhile, the Marlins were also planning on sending Syndergaard to the Yankees in a three-team deal where they got…nothing. But no, Derek Jeter isn’t on the Yankees payroll.
Fortunately, the Mets didn’t make a catastrophic mistake, unusual for the franchise. Instead, they casted away the dead weight that was Plawecki. To fill the void, the Mets signed a competent offensive catcher on the free agent market. Huh. This is weird. Catcher isn’t an automatic out/double play this year? That’s all I could ever ask for.
I never said I had big dreams.
What can the Mets expect out of the position this year. Let’s take a look at the team’s options behind the plate.
Wilson Ramos (RHB)
Career – .273/.317/.439
2018 – .306/.358/.487
Ramos has always been praised for his bat, and as you can see from his career slashes, I wasn’t kidding about catcher offense. It’s abysmal. Still, a .273 average isn’t anything to be ashamed of, and he was amazing last season. Ramos actually has 2 .300 seasons under his rather robust belt. He sure doesn’t like walking, but if you’re hitting above .270, I’ll live with it.
Ramos does not possess elite power. 20 HRs is the high-end. He did slug pretty well in 2018, but that was boosted by his average. I wouldn’t expect a near .500 SLG, but .450 is in play, which means a lot of doubles and around 15 homers.
Defensively, Ramos has never been an ace. But he can’t be worse than what the Mets have had back there. Anything he gives up defensively, he should earn back on offense. Ramos is probably a top 10 catcher, but top 5 at the dish.
Prediction: Ramos will be the everyday catcher, seeing about 115 games. He should hit around .280 and bat 6th or 7th in the lineup.
Travis d’Arnaud (RHB)
Career .245/.306/.406,
2018 – .200/.250/.400 (16 At Bats).
2017 – .244/.293/.443.
Injury – Recovering from Tommy John
It shouldn’t surprise you that d’Arnaud is already hurt. That’s his natural state. A once promising career has been crippled by injury after injury. A lot of these were flukes, but d’Arnaud is built like an infielder. Perhaps in another life, he’s a successful third baseman. Then again, maybe his bat was only a plus at catcher. I guess we’ll never really know.
Since the injuries have taken hold, it’s tough to say what d’Arnaud is. Good doesn’t seem to be an apt description though. Travis has only topped a .260 average once, never hit for power and was generally meh for most of his career, expect for the 2015 playoffs. His prospect hype carried him for a while.
Defensively, few catchers have been worse. It could have been the injuries, but d’Arnaud couldn’t throw anyone out. Mets pitchers didn’t help him out, but then again, Mets pitchers don’t put many guys on base. Well, the ones that aren’t Vargas. Travis’ defensive woes hurt him nearly as much as all the injuries.
It’s a shame, but he should be a plus backup for the team this season.
Prediction: d’Arnaud sees about 45 games in relief, gets some pinch hit opportunities and makes it all the way to September. Then, he twists his ankle slipping on a puddle of Gatorade, missing the stretch run.
Devin Mesoroco (RHB)
Career – .232/.309/.406
2018 – .221/.303/.398
Is that Johnny Bench? No, not quite. For a few weeks, Mets fans were thrilled at the haul they got for Matt Harvey. Then, they quickly realized Mesoroco was washed more than you’re favorite pair of socks.
Back in 2014, Handsome Devin seemed to be the next big catcher. He had a monster season and made his only all-star appearance. The word only should say everything needed here. Horrific injuries derailed him and he’s never been the same hitter. He does still have some power, but no contact to go with it. Why in the world is he being considered for a roster spot?
The answer is Jacob deGrom. You know how last year deGrom has the best pitching season since Pedro Martinez? Well he did. No big deal. Anyway, his catcher for the last four months was Mr. Mesoroco. Maybe he’s a legit illusionist, err, pitch framer. Jacob is such a fan, he’s lobbying for Mesoroco to make the team. Really, this means d’Arnaud wouldnt mae the roster. I have my doubts on that.
But then again, isn’t a happy deGrom more important than back up catcher? Probably. I mean, the numbers suggest the two are basically equal. That’s good. Way to live up to the hype Travis.
Is there a chance the Mets keep three catchers? It would be a complete waste of resources for two mediocre at bats. However, it’s the Mets, so it’s definitely in play. I believe cooler heads will prevail for some unknown reason.
Prediction: Mesoroco is on the outside looking in, possibly in the literal sense, as he is left off the 25 man roster.
*This is a comedy intro. I know I missed a few good catchers. And I’m sure I missed a few who are very good at catching a baseball
