Edwin Diaz and 3 other players who’ve hurt their cause by playing in the WBC

3) NY Mets catcher Omar Narvaez is giving himself a disadvantage this season

Omar Narvaez didn’t play much for Team Venezuela before they were eliminated. While Alonso and McNeil are in no danger of losing playing time, Narvaez is. We should expect him to be more of a platoon catcher alongside Tomas Nido. Spending a few weeks away from the Mets won’t change this. What could hurt him and the team is how he works with the pitchers.

Narvaez is new to the club. Getting as many opportunities to catch each and every pitcher matters. Helping to pass along whatever knowledge he could to countryman Francisco Alvarez would pay off dividends he won’t even be around long enough to see with this organization. He didn’t play much in the WBC. He did lose a lot of chances to focus on his new team.

Several Mets players were already outspoken about their feelings on the WBC. Brandon Nimmo skipped it to stay healthy, ironically. Max Scherzer questioned if there was a better time for the tournament to take place. Kodai Senga made it known that his priority is the Mets.

We also have Francisco Lindor defending how important the WBC is for many players. It’s a generation thing. The tournament should only grow in popularity as years go on and more players grew up watching it. Narvaez is at an age caught between the ones who really think of the WBC as classic and those who see it as a secondary importance.

Narvaez will have extra work to put in between now and Opening Day. I have faith he will, but why work harder when you can work smarter?