New York Mets Bench: What it could look like on Opening Day

Jake Marisnick – Fourth Outfielder

Since Jake Marisnick was picked up to improve the defensive of our outfield rotation, he will most likely break camp as the Mets fourth outfielder. Jake will look to spell Brandon Nimmo versus some tough lefties and come in during the late innings to provide us a better defender in center field with then Nimmo going to left field to replace the defensively challenged J.D. Davis.

Over the years Marisnick has proven to have a gold glove caliber glove and some home run power with his bat. The strikeout seems to be his nemesis, but since I am anticipating he will probably receive anywhere from 200 to 300 at-bats throughout the course of the season, his strikeouts won’t hurt too much. His 8 to 15 probable home runs should provide some extra power for the Mets lineup.

Tomas Nido – Backup Catcher

With Tomas Nido out of minor league options (and Rene Rivera being signed to a minor league contract), I am confident that Nido will be looking to lock down the backup catcher role with the 2020 Mets. Nido is a highly rated defensive catcher who is very popular with Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, because of his exceptional receiving, framing and throwing skills.

We do remember all the drama last year when both deGrom and Thor didn’t want starting catcher Wilson Ramos catching their starts, they both looked to Nido to become their personal catcher.

So yes, you lose some offense with Nido behind the plate, but I did see enough progress with his at-bats last year to think he will continue to improve offensively and look to take some playing time away from defensively challenged Ramos.

Personally, I would like to see the catcher position for the Mets in 2020 eventually evolve into more of a 50/50 timeshare. I believe this will help out our pitching staff having a catcher behind the plate who can not only properly receive the pitches but also control the running game.