NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 overlooked Opening Day roster upgrades from last year

In only a short few weeks, we’ll know exactly what the New York Mets Opening Day roster will be. Regardless of who they chose from their minor position battles, things are looking up from this time last season.

The 2024 Mets opened the year with multiple players we all just knew weren’t going to last very long. Athletes on the decline as well as some who never fully established themselves as regulars at the major league level made up a good percentage of the roster.

Although far from stacked at every position, we can confidently believe these three spots have been upgraded.

1) Backup catcher

Going from Omar Narvaez to just about anything is an upgrade for the Mets. Base runners ran amuck on him last year. He was a player an anatomist would distinguish was literally made up of nothing but Achilles Heels. For a guy who spent parts of two seasons with the Mets, it’s amazing to look back at his tenure and not recall many notable moments. Even Patrick Mazeika had his.

The Mets didn’t have to do a thing at the backup catcher spot this offseason to make it better. By simply moving forward with Luis Torrens, we’re in much better hands, shin guards, and lumber.

Torrens didn’t have a completely squeaky clean first year with the Mets. While his ability to throw out runners was remarkable, with a caught stealing percentage of 46.4%, his bat went into hiding in the final two months. He batted only .111/.200/.111 in August without a single extra-base hit. He slashed .136/.208/.227 in September with two doubles but no RBI.

The backup catcher isn’t meant to be a primary source of offense so there’s no sweating his presence at the moment. However, being a black hole on offense is unacceptable.