NY Mets: NL East rivals worth adding to the roster this winter

Washington Nationals – Kurt Suzuki

The final guy in the National League East that the Mets could acquire is Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki is not just a good fallback option if the Mets do miss out on Realmuto, but a good choice at catcher in general for the 2021 season.

Suzuki has put together a nice career, especially the last couple of years for teams in the NL East. In 2019 Suzuki slashed .264/.324/.486/.809 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI in only 85 games and 309 plate appearances. His 2020 season was a small step backward from a power standpoint, but he was still good overall. He slashed .270/.349/.396/.745 with 2 home runs 17 RBI in 129 plate appearances.

Suzuki’s defensive numbers were not great in the last two seasons, but they were better in 2020 than in 2019. In 2019 his total zone total fielding runs above average was -7 and he only caught 10% of runners stealing, while the league average was 26% and his career average is 23%. 2020 was a step in the right direction as his total zone total fielding runs above average was lowered to -4 and his caught stealing percentage went up to 15% with the league average at 24%.

Although Suzuki is not Realmuto, he could still be a nice addition to a Mets team in need of some help behind the plate. He can provide a decent bat and not too terrible defense, along with veteran leadership and postseason success.

There are plenty of quality players from the NL East that will be available in free agency this offseason or through trade. With the Mets in need of some positions more than others and certain players from the NL East available, we could very well see a former Mets rival in the orange and blue next season.

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Is there anyone else from the NL East you want to see the Mets consider acquiring?