Mets catcher Tomas Nido becoming a featured reserve player

Along with his usual solid defense, New York Mets catcher Tomas Nido is now hitting and making a case for more playing time in 2020 and beyond.

The New York Mets, for all the issues that have befallen them this season, have had some bright spots develop. One of those bright spots is undoubtedly the development of offense to Tomas Nido’s game.

Nido has quickly changed the perspective that fans held of him with solid defense behind the plate in addition to a surprisingly awake bat. He has collected 7 hits in 20 at-bats so far this season. His flashiest performance was a two-home run game on August 13th, in which he smacked two home runs and drove in six runs.

The Mets might have thought they hit prospect gold with Nido’s performance in the minors in 2016. As Wayne Cavadi of minorleagueball.com reported, Nido actually led the Florida League in batting average with a .320 mark. Not only was he showing promise defensively, but it seemed as if his bat had come around as well.

More from Rising Apple

• NY Mets Rumors: 1 big threat to steal 2 Flushing free agents
• NY Mets need to call the Athletics about a Matt Chapman trade
• NY Mets dream starting lineup for the 2022 season
• NY Mets offseason makeover might be a simple “She’s All That” situation
• NY Mets: 8 Ex-Amazins who killed it with other teams in 2021

Following that offensive outburst, Nido’s numbers dipped, but his ascension through the minor leagues accelerated due to the fluidity of the position at the Major League level of the Mets.

Nido was never able to truly get adjusted offensively at any other tier of the organization because of the way he was jerked around between the levels.

Whatever it seemed like Nido was looking for at the plate, he has found, however. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the 25-year old. With Wilson Ramos looking more lost with every passing second, Nido has created a spot for himself on the team for next season due to his proficient play.

Ramos, should he continue to play the way that he has, is not a likely candidate to have his third-year option on his contract picked up. He has nearly played himself out of a future in Flushing, with a defining play coming in the form of body mispositioning on a tag at home that lost a game for the Mets against the Phillies, and catapulted them into a lowly sweep.

With J.T. Realmuto destined for the free agent market this offseason, it is paramount that the Mets try to sign the veteran catcher. He is unequivocally the best all-around catcher in baseball, and for the Mets, who have been starved of a star at the position for some time, it would be foolish to not try to sign him.

The addition of Realmuto would not be a negative thing for Nido. In fact, with the way he has played this season, he has made the case that he would be a great backup to Realmuto. Not only would Nido finally have a role on the team to call his own, but the Mets could also finally have a backup catcher that isn’t an automatic out in the lineup.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Having a starter-backup combination of Realmuto-Nido is the best possible scenario that the Mets could ask for at this point. Nido has always been able to make a case for himself to be a backup because of his defensive abilities, but his rediscovered prowess at the plate has shed a new light on what the catcher can do.