How should Mets fill catching vacancy with Alvarez out?

LOS ANGELES -- In the third inning of an otherwise forgettable 10-0 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday, the Mets accomplished something that had eluded them over their first 20 games. Making his first start behind the plate, Tomás Nido -- one of two roster replacements for injured starting catcher Francisco Alvarez -- threw a would-be basestealer out at second.

Prior to Sunday, the Mets were 0-for-28 in that department. They had allowed the most stolen bases in the league and were one of only two teams, along with the Pirates, that had yet to catch anyone.

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For the Mets, the play did nothing to erase the sting of losing Alvarez, a promising 22-year-old catcher with a bright future and a gregarious nature. But it did highlight the fact that not all is lost; Alvarez’s replacements also feature some notable skill sets.

Nido

Making his first big league start in close to 11 months, Nido immediately demonstrated one of his strengths with an elite 1.87-second pop time to catch Will Smith stealing second. Although he lacks the natural arm strength of Alvarez, Nido is a mechanically sound catcher who has posted better overall results throwing out baserunners. Nido has also always been a strong blocker and pitch framer, so despite Alvarez’s reputation as one of the league’s best framers, the Mets won’t lose too much there.

Offensively, Nido believes the mechanical changes he made two offseasons ago were starting to click when he produced a 1.042 OPS during 14 Spring Training games in 2023. But a few weeks later, he began battling vision problems that required him to have punctal plugs inserted into each eye. Nido, who underwent LASIK surgery in 2019, is back to wearing contacts every day.

Whether clear eyes will bring more hits remains to be seen. Nido was at least enjoying some early results at Triple-A Syracuse, with an .862 OPS over nine games, and his 103.6 mph single off Tyler Glasnow in the eighth inning Sunday was one of the 20 hardest base hits of his career.

More than numbers, Nido has a new attitude after feeling blindsided by the Mets’ decision to designate him for assignment last June -- five months after inking him to a two-year, $3.7 million contract. Partially because of that salary, Nido went unclaimed on waivers and spent the rest of the year at Triple-A. He now realizes how little at this level is truly guaranteed. When Nido reported to Spring Training no longer part of the 40-man roster, president of baseball operations David Stearns told him he would start in the Minors if everyone else was healthy.

“Stearns was pretty straightforward with everything, and I always appreciate honesty, even if it sucks,” Nido said. “I feel like when I was down last year, there wasn’t that honesty that we have now. And I think that’s huge.”

Omar Narváez

Because he bats left-handed, Narváez is a more natural daily lineup fit than Nido. Simply put, the Mets will see more right-handed pitchers than lefties over the next two months, meaning Narváez will have the platoon advantage more often.

But manager Carlos Mendoza was clear on Sunday morning in saying “both are going to play.” Narváez’s playing time could come down to how often he hits; since the start of 2023, he ranks 405th in OPS out of 424 big league hitters with at least 150 plate appearances. He hasn’t been an above-average hitter since 2021, when he produced an .805 OPS against right-handed pitchers.

While Narváez has struggled throwing out baserunners this season, he’s been a strong defender in the past, producing elite framing numbers from 2021-22. Even if he stays cold with the bat, Narváez can still add value behind the plate.

“I still have to clean up some things about my defense,” Narváez said, specifically citing his framing and throwing as issues, “but I think we’re going to get to the same level that everybody knows.”

Other organizational options

Had Kevin Parada developed as the Mets hoped he would when they selected him 11th overall in the 2022 Draft, he might have been knocking on the door to the Majors right now. Instead, Parada produced a .751 OPS over his first full professional season, lost his Pipeline Top 100 status, and this year is batting .211/.392/.316 over 12 games at Double-A Binghamton.

“Everyone says it’s a long season. But until you actually go through it, you don’t understand the ups and downs and different stuff,” Parada said last month. “So a big part of the excitement of this year is like, 'OK, I’ve been through it one year. Now, what can I do to be better and accomplish what I’m trying to accomplish?'”

While Parada remains a future catching option in the Majors, he isn’t one right now. And the Mets’ other upper-level catchers profile more as organizational depth, including veteran Austin Allen and longtime Minor Leaguer Hayden Senger.