Uphill climb for Nido to get back to big leagues
PORT ST. LUCIE — Tomas Nido’s path back to the big leagues is a steep one.
The Mets catcher has remained in the organization since last summer when the club cut him as the result of a roster crunch. He’s back in spring training hoping to show the Mets that he’s healthy and can be productive, but between Francisco Alvarez’s bat and Omar Narvaez’s salary, Nido is in a tough spot.
“I worked on a little bit of everything [in the offseason],” Nido told the Daily News earlier this week. “I’m always working on something — polishing the defense, working on the hitting and trying to get stronger and better in every category.”
Nido went 0-for-2 with an RBI in his first spring training game Saturday afternoon, but he also dropped a throw by Brett Baty from third base, allowing a run to score. However, the Mets don’t worry about Nido’s defense. An excellent framer with a strong, accurate arm, Nido might be the best defensive catcher on the roster.
But the offense wasn’t there last season. A former High-A batting champion, his bat didn’t translate at the major league level. With Grapefruit League games beginning, his best shot is to hit.
The Mets signed their homegrown backstop to a two-year, $3.7 million contract last winter, effectively buying out his final two arbitration years. Narvaez, a veteran catcher known more for his bat than his glove, was also signed to a twoyear $15 million contract last winter. At the time, general manager Billy Eppler figured Alvarez, a top prospect in the organization, would need more minor-league development.
But then Narvaez got hurt on the first road trip of the 2023 season and Nido failed to hit. The catching situation turned into an expensive mess.
Dry eye syndrome gave Nido significant vision problems almost overnight and cost him at the plate.
“I went from not having any issue at all to almost suddenly within a few days, having a serious amount of issues when it came through just a day-to-day living aspect of seeing,” Nido said. “I wasn’t really informed on what was going on for myself, so I figured that out. The moment that it was happening was the tough part. And unfortunately, it happened at the time it did.”
It happened last May, shortly before Narvaez returned from the injured list. By then, the Mets had decided to go with Alvarez, with pitchers lobbying for the team to keep him instead of sending him back to Triple-A Syracuse.
It was Nido who ended up in Syracuse when he passed through waivers unclaimed. He became a mentor for the pitching staff in Triple-A, helping keep pitchers calm when they struggled with the controversial ABS challenge system.
“It’s a wild ride,” Nido said. “I feel like sometimes we don’t take a step back to enjoy the process.”
Nido no longer has vision issues and hasn’t since last summer. It was a scary time for him and his family and he’s grateful that the issue was resolved quickly. Getting back to the big leagues will be a challenge, but it’s one he’s taking on with a positive attitude.
“Things happen for a reason,” Nido said. “Now, I’m just looking forward to having a good spring and I can’t control anything else.”
PLAYING BY NEW RULES
After spending nearly two decades in the Yankees organization, Carlos Mendoza is taking advantage of his newfound freedom to grow facial hair. The Mets’ new skipper is sporting a goatee.
“My wife likes it,” Mendoza said. “So that’s a good thing.”
The Yankees’ infamous facial hair policy forbids anything other than a manicured mustache, a policy late owner George Steinbrenner instituted in 1976. Harrison Bader and Luis Severino, also former Yankees, are both sporting beards in camp.
KEITH’S DAY OFF
The Mets’ illustrious group of broadcasters typically reunite for the first Grapefruit League game of the season, but the SNY booth was a man short Saturday for the Mets’ 10-5 loss to the Cardinals. Gary Cohen and Ron Darling called the game without Keith Hernandez, a former first baseman and a gregarious fan favorite.
Hernandez and his brother Gary were in California to be inducted into the Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame. The two brothers grew up in the town just south of San Francisco and both played baseball at local colleges before entering the Cardinals’ minor league system.
Hernandez isn’t the only person affiliated with the Mets to be inducted into a local hall of fame this year. Infielder Jeff McNeil, the 2022 NL batting champion, was recently inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame.