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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