The Mets catching situation has been a huge problem since the Alvarez injury. Counting on Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez to fill in until Alvarez returns. In my recent podcast, Andrew and I discussed the Narvaez situation and what we should do.
Narvaez was signed by the Mets before the 2023 season in a move I didn’t understand. The Mets had Tomas Nido and James McCann on their roster and opted to get Omar Narvaez, coming off a bad year himself. The Mets hoped for a bounce back and a mentor for Francisco Alvarez. Narvaez was bound to be the starting catcher and Nido the back up, meaning the Mets needed to get ride of McCann. While McCann obviously wasn’t having a good Mets career, now the Mets paid off the McCann contract and added more to add Narvaez. Since the trade I didn’t see the upgrade that warrant the payment.
The first year didn’t go well for Narvaez. He got hurt early and Alvarez took the starting catching job. In his return, Narvaez was Alvarez back-up, something he has never been in his career. Narvaez played in 49 games and hit .211/.283/.297 with a 0 DRS and below average in Blocking, Caught stealing and pop time. Framing was slightly above average.
And while James McCann didn’t do any better in that regard, he did have a better OPS and better expected stats in the same year as a back of Adley Rutchman.
In 2024, it is even worse for Narvaez so far. His .150/.190/.183 slash is good for a .374 OPS. Not OBP but OPS. And if Narvaez provided solid defense? But no, he has been worse. Narvaez has a minus 8 DRS and amongst league worst in CS, Pop time and framing. One thing he does do better is blocking.
His Baseball savant offensive stats aren’t reason for optimism. His expected slash is .171/.190/.230. Nido for example has an expected slash of .242/.308/.447, good for a .755 expected OPS. And more importantly, Nido is above average in Blocks, Caught Stealing, Framing and average in pop time. It’s clear Nido is better and we all see that.
Right now, I wouldn’t waste any time. Alvarez is close to ready, but the Mets can move on from Narvaez right now, put Hayden Senger on the 40 and 26 man roster and give him some time in the majors. Senger, not known for his bat with a .679 career OPS in the minors, but is seen as one of the best defensive catchers in the organization. I see catching defense as an important part of the catching spot and Narvaez isn’t providing good defense. Senger at least gives you a very good defender.
This move wouldn’t cost a roster spot, as it’s smart to keep 3 catchers on the 40 man anyways. Gives a catcher the Mets have kept around (probably for a reason) a shot in the majors and show off his defensive skills. #SengerforBigs
