NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: Tomas Nido #3 of the New York Mets looks on during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on April 08, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) (Sarah Stier, Getty Images)
The Mets’ roster crunch has finally arrived, and it has resulted in a tough decision to part ways with a homegrown catcher.
The Mets reinstated Omar Narvaez from the 60-day injured list Monday and designated Tomas Nido for assignment in a corresponding transaction. This means the Mets are rolling with Narvaez, who signed with the club as a free agent over the winter, and rookie backstop Francisco Alvarez for the foreseeable future.
Alvarez has forced his way onto the roster with his bat, hitting .292 with seven home runs, 17 RBI and a 1.029 OPS in the month of May. His eight total home runs are tied for the fourth-most among all qualified rookies. His defense has also improved, with Alvarez making some key plays on the basepaths and gaining the respect of the pitching staff behind the plate.
The plan was to go with Nido and Narvaez this season to be able to give Alvarez time to develop in Triple-A. But the Mets called up the 21-year-old Alvarez after Narvaez strained his left calf in the second road series of the season in Milwaukee.Nido struggled to produce offensively this season, and while his bat has never been his calling card he’s been a replacement-level catcher over the last few seasons. But this year, he collected only seven hits in 56 at-bats (.125), none for extra bases.
The Mets have used five catchers this year, with Michael Perez and Gary Sanchez seeing stints on the big league roster. Sanchez has since been designated for assignment and is now with the San Diego Padres.
Nido struggled with vision issues last month and was placed on the injured list with dry eye syndrome. He returned to join the Mets on their last road trip, but Alvarez was in the midst of a hitting streak and it was impossible not to play him.
That hitting streak has since come to an end, with Alvarez going 0-for-14 over his last five games, but the Mets had seen all they needed to see to be able to make a decision and Nido’s time with the only club he’s ever known has come to an end as well.
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Florida, Nido, 29, was drafted by the Mets in the eighth round in 2012. He won the Florida State League batting title in 2016, but his offensive prowess at the minor league level never translated to the big leagues.
The 31-year-old Narvaez is a left-handed hitting catcher who was an All-Star with the Brewers in 2021 and was 4-for-14 (.286) at the time of his injury. He has posted an OPS+ over 100 three times in his career and the Mets like that he hits from the left side.
Nido has seven days to clear waivers. Should he clear, the Mets can outright him to the minor leagues or release him. However, with more than four years of service time, Nido can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency instead. He seemed to know the transaction was coming given the cryptic Instagram post with the salute emoji, a peace sign and an arrow, which many read as him saluting his teammates before moving on with his career.
The Mets are facing two of the National League’s best teams this week with a six-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Atlanta against the Braves. The 30-30 Mets can make some noise in the NL East with a series win over the Braves but it doesn’t get much easier from there, going to Pittsburgh for a weekend series that begins Friday. The Pirates are eyeing a return to the postseason for the first time since 2015 and currently stand only 0.5 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central and hold an NL Wild Card spot. The Miami Marlins currently hold the final Wild Card slot and the Mets, who are desperately trying to prevent the season from slipping away, are two games behind their NL East foes.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service