Search for catcher might be difficult
BALTIMORE — As has become the late-summer custom, the Mets are looking toward next season and wondering about the catcher’s position, hardly overwhelmed by the possibilities.
Perhaps no position has vexed the Mets more for the last decade-plus. And a scarcity of potential options this offseason already has team officials speculating that familiar faces could be the choice for 2019.
That would mean the combination of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, both of whom are under club control for next season, returning behind the plate.
“Catching is terrible out there, so there are much worse things,” a major league talent evaluator said Wednesday. “But [the Mets] have to find ways to improve the team.”
The Mets won’t hire a new general manager until the offseason, and upgrading a lineup that has been among baseball’s worst this season — both offensively and defensively — will be the top priority.
Wilson Ramos will be the top name at catcher on the free-agent market this winter, but beyond the 30-yearold All-Star — who was traded from Tampa Bay to Philadelphia this season — there could be a precipitous decline. Yasmani Grandal is headed to free agency after the season, but given the dearth of catching, it would be surprising if the deep-pocketed Dodgers let him escape.
Devin Mesoraco, whom the Mets acquired in the trade that sent Matt Harvey to the Reds in May, is a free agent after the season, and his return would seem unlikely.
But complicating the equation for the Mets is the fact d’Arnaud underwent Tommy John surgery in April, and it’s still unclear if he will be ready to begin next season. D’Arnaud, who is arbitration eligible for one more year, is making $3.48 million this season. D’Arnaud has been a frequent disabled list presence since arriving with Noah Syndergaard from the Blue Jays in the R.A. Dickey trade following the 2012 season.
For now, the Mets will take a longer look at the 27-year-old Plawecki, who has been sharing catching duties with Mesoraco.
“We still need to see Plawecki play — you are going to see him a lot the rest of the season, and that will get a better idea of where we are at heading to the offseason,” manager Mickey Callaway said before the Mets faced the Orioles at Camden Yards. “Obviously we have unknown factors with all of our catchers at this point, and we’re going to be getting back a catcher next year, too, [d’Arnaud] so we’ll see.”
Plawecki took a .217/.323/ .357 slash line into Wednesday as he tries to emerge from a slump that has sliced his . OPS from .771 to .680 over the past month. Behind the plate, team officials have been satisfied with Plawecki’s work, included improved throwing, despite the fact he has nailed just 7of-42 (16.7 percent) of runners attempting to steal.
The Mets are expected to promote Tomas Nido in September when rosters expand, giving team officials another catcher to evaluate. Nido saw action for the Mets earlier this season, when Plawecki missed six weeks with a broken left hand.