These 3 Mets roster gambles failed to hit the jackpot this year

3) NY Mets roster gamble: The failed Tomas Nido contract extension

Signing Sanchez is understandable. Giving Nogosek a spot on the Opening Day roster is explainable. Handing out a contract extension to your backup catcher when he’s still arbitration eligible is throwing money away. The Mets will now pay Tomas Nido to essentially ride out his contract in the minor leagues. Another recent DFA, Nido managed to pass through the waiver wire before accepting an assignment to Triple-A Syracuse. It’s the best situation for the Mets who get to retain some catcher depth, but at what cost?

Nido won’t be coming back to the big leagues anytime soon. Because they’d have to DFA him all over again after adding him to the 40-man roster, it’s not a worthwhile trip to take if the need arises for a catcher. Michael Perez, a guy we saw called up prior to Sanchez this year, should be the one summoned to the major leagues next.

Nido hit only .125/.153/.125 for the Mets in his 61 plate appearances this season. A positive reputation as a defender after a year where he was a Gold Glove finalist helped earn him a $2.1 million deal for the 2024 season. It’s chump change for a man like Steve Cohen. It is, nevertheless, a strange gamble for the Mets to take when there was no necessity to extend him at all.

Perhaps this money is one of the reasons why Nido was able to pass through waivers. If so, it’s a low-key savvy move to keep around a catcher who might be able to have an impact on young pitchers and even Alvarez by sticking around the organization.