If Mets are in win-now mode, Tomas Nido should catch Jacob deGrom

If the New York Mets truly are in win-now mode as they’ve made us believe, it’s essential they allow Jacob deGrom to pitch to his preferred catcher, Tomas Nido.

The New York Mets don’t want to hand catcher Tomas Nido over to Jacob deGrom, but after his most recent start on Wednesday, they may have to. deGrom tossed six innings of two-hit ball against the Washington Nationals. Other than a solo home run to the second batter of the game, he was almost flawless.

It was recently reported that deGrom prefers Nido to starting catcher, Wilson Ramos. The numbers explain why. deGrom is in Cy Young form when the younger backstop is behind the plate.

I don’t think deGrom is alone in his feelings either. I wrote in the past how Nido and Noah Syndergaard have also had success together. Back then, I wondered if Thor should get paired with Nido. I’ve changed my tune. It’s the $100+ million ace who should get the catcher he wants.

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There’s an easy explanation why. If the Mets truly are in win-now mode, they have to put themselves and the team in the best position to do so. deGrom is better with Nido, even at the slight sacrifice on offense. Given Ramos’ struggles at the plate, it’s not as if the team is losing much in the way of scoring runs.

On more than one occasion, manager Mickey Callaway has said this will not happen. Ramos is the starter and making Nido the personal catcher for deGrom means less playing time.

There’s an easy fix to this. Ramos needs to be better. At the very least, he needs to be such an offensive force the Mets cannot afford to take his bat out of the lineup. Since he has been unable to accomplish this, it’s essential to put the best team on the field possible to win.

Nido is still a bad hitter and I don’t see him becoming anything special at the plate. In his best years, his numbers will resemble what Kevin Plawecki achieved. There’s a chance he will outperform my rather low expectations although there’s nothing to indicate such.

Why sacrifice you’re the performance and happiness of your best and most expensive pitcher out of ego? This is how this comes across.

The Mets have backpedaled many times already. For instance, Edwin Diaz is no longer a three-out closer. They will use him as needed. They also clearly don’t view Jeff McNeil as a second baseman exclusively as they claimed last year when he was still in the minor leagues.

This organization needs to adapt on the fly a little better. Ramos will get his chances to play. When the situation calls for it, perhaps they should even try him again with deGrom.

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Until further notice, it’s clear this team has a better chance at the W with Nido behind the plate when deGrom is on the mound. Keep it this way. If, as Brodie Van Wagenen claimed in the preseason, every game counts, then they cannot risk losing any outing by one of the best pitchers in baseball just because the catcher he prefers is not the starter.