Monday, December 17, 2018

Mets Ink Catcher Wilson Ramos to 2-year Deal

The Mets have themselves a new catcher.

After weeks of speculation that the Mets were trying to acquire Miami Marlins catcher JT Realmuto, even if it meant trading Noah Syndergaard to the Yankees, the Boys from Flushing put all the speculation to rest by agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with veteran catcher Wilson Ramos.

While Realmuto might have more power potential in his bat, and is much younger at age 28, compared to Ramos who will be 32 next August, the Mets get a player with a solid reputation as one of the better catcher’s in the sport.


In nine seasons, Ramos owns a slash line of .273/.317/.439, and is coming off a year where he hit .306 with 15 homers and 70 RBI while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies combined.

While he is small in stature, Ramos has proven to be a guy with some pop in his bat, and a solid average hitter. He even won a Silver Slugger Award just two years ago for hitting .307 with 22 homers and 80 RBI for the Washington Nationals. 

But the real reason why the Mets are signing Ramos is his reputation behind the plate. He is ranked 14th among active catchers in throwing runners out at 31.62 percent. By comparison, J.T. Realmuto has thrown out just about the same percentage of runners at 32.97 percent.  Considering the difference is only one percentage point, the Mets are saving money and prospects by not going after Realmuto if his defensive efficiency is on par with Ramos.

Moreover, Ramos is well regarded for his handling of a pitching staff.   In his six seasons with the Nats, Washington was ranked in the top-seven among pitching staffs in Major League Baseball each year he played there. The Nats were even ranked second in the major’s in team ERA in 2016 with a 3.51 team ERA.

For a team that has two top flight starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard on the roster, adding a catcher with Ramos’ background is tantalizing.

In fact, the signing of Ramos, at least for now, takes the Syndergaard trade rumors down a notch. The Mets have been busy shopping the right-hander since Brodie Van Wagenen took over as General Manager. Mets fans can only hope Van Wagenen has come to his senses on dealing the star pitcher.

Ramos will become the Mets starting catcher with Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud likely to compete for the back-up spot. 

Plawecki is used to be relegated to back-up duty. He hasn’t caught more than 79 games in a season, and has never really become a big time hitting catcher. However, the Ramos news has to hit d’Arnaud the hardest.
d’Arnaud missed almost all of last season after partially tearing the UCL in his right elbow, and has never stayed healthy for a full season. His consistent stays on the disabled list haven’t been helped by the fact that he is a lifetime .245 hitter and only throws out about 20 percent of runners on base.


The Mets needed a catcher, and they got one of the best ones on the free agent market.

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