Mets depth chart: 2 players moving up, 2 moving down

Moving down the NY Mets depth chart: Tomas Nido

When one catcher goes up, another must go down. The law of depth chart applies to the Mets with Francisco Alvarez becoming the top dog it must mean someone else has fallen. That guy is Tomas Nido.

Now on the IL, it’s hard to picture how Nido will be anything more than a once or twice a weak catcher who gets into the lineup to give the starter a rest. He hit .118/.148/.118 for them in 55 plate appearances without an extra-base hit in the bench.

Nido’s rise as a regular on the Mets roster came exclusively because of his defense and how much pitchers like Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom enjoyed working with him. Neither are here any longer. And while pitchers on the current ball club probably do like throwing to him, his absent bat makes him unplayable.

Maybe bad vision is what caused Nido to start this year so slowly. The Mets did just buy out his 2024 arbitration earlier this year, putting them on the hook for some cash they’ll owe him regardless of what happens. The big question with the catcher situation is what the team will do when everyone gets healthy. Narvaez’s return is approaching. What happens when Nido comes off the IL, too? The Mets don’t have enough flexibility with their other players to carry three catchers plus part-time DH Daniel Vogelbach.

Moving up the NY Mets depth chart: Jeff Brigham

Jeff Brigham isn’t going to win any reliever of the year award. He may, however, turn out to be one of the more important bullpen pieces the Mets added to the organization this winter. Acquired alongside Elieser Hernandez in a trade with the Miami Marlins, Brigham was the less-talked-about member of this deal. Now with Hernandez on the 60-day IL and Brigham pitching well, the narrative has changed.

In 11 appearances which ate up 12 innings for the Mets this year, Brigham has a 3.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts compared to 4 walks. He has served up a pair of home runs. In fact, the back-to-back appearances from him on April 26 and May 1 are the only times he has allowed anything at all. Brigham has been used regularly in losses this month. Then again, has there been much winning?

The great benefit of having Brigham on the roster is the Mets have a guy with MLB experience plus someone to join the revolving door back and forth between the minors. As unfortunate as it is in some ways, the business part of baseball could have Brigham regularly revisiting Syracuse regardless of how effective or not he is on the mound. The bonus with this is job security.

Moving down the NY Mets depth chart: Stephen Nogosek

Stephen Nogosek fought hard for an Opening Day roster spot. Due to injuries and several other factors, he won a job out of camp. He has already made one trip to the IL but now back and healthy, he’ll need to continue to battle to keep his roster spot.

Nogosek has given the Mets an acceptable performance as an intended “last resort” type of pitcher for the Mets. He has tossed 13 innings in 6 games for the Mets this year. His 4.85 ERA is uninspiring. Able to go multiple innings—something he has done in all but one of his appearances—Nogosek could have a continued role as a mop-up guy for the Mets. Unfortunately, a beating against the Cincinnati Reds on May 9 is his most recent trip to the mound and it didn’t go well with 3 earned runs across the board against him in 1.2 innings.

He moves down the depth chart behind Brigham. They might swap a single spot. Nogosek is still someone who might get some big innings. However, at this point, Brigham looks like the far better choice for Buck Showalter to summon.

Nogosek doesn’t have much job security and could be facing the dreaded DFA slip if he struggles. The Mets lack flexibility with their bullpen and won’t have too much patience for him if he struggles. Right now, there aren’t too many better options out there to take a spot over Nogosek. This could lengthen his leash temporarily.