Judging Tomas Nido's performance filling in for James McCann

The New York Mets will soon have their biggest guns back on the mound. Max Scherzer should be returning in the next week or so, with Jacob DeGrom expected back in July. Also returning is their catcher, James McCann. With that in mind, let's take a look at how his replacement Tomas Nido has done filling in.

McCann was injured on May 10th, breaking a bone in his wrist that later required surgery to repair, which he underwent on May 17th. With McAnn now back, that relegates Tomas Nido back to the backup catcher role.

Before his injury, McCann was hitting just a mere .192, granted in a small sample size of just 56 at bats. This is also a noticeable drop from his down 2021 season, where he hit .232. Although, many Mets had lower offensive numbers last season when the Mets struggled as a team offensively.

While McCann’s batting average may not be what it was during his time with the White Sox, .276 over two seasons, I do expect his numbers to be equal to or greater than his 2021 season, once he has enough at bats.

Judging Nido's time as the Mets number 1 catcher

McCann’s replacement Nido is no stranger to Mets fans. Nido has been in the Mets system since being drafted in 2012. He has seen his role on the team grow over the past couple seasons.

Judging Nido against McCann isn’t the most fair comparison. McCann has proven throughout his career that he is a solid starting catcher in the big leagues. Nido, isn’t quite to that level yet, although when given his chances he has performed adequately.

With that in mind, let's compare Nido’s 2022 performance, to that of his career so far. Nido’s performance this season I would argue has been as good, or better than his career so far. He is performing at or above his career averages in several categories.

His career batting average sits at .210, with his 2022 average slightly better at .221, his OBP is also up compared to his career average. However, his SLG and OPS are down slightly.

Nido versus McCann defensively on the Mets

While Nido hasn’t shown the abilities that McCann has when it comes to offensive, defensively, the gap between the two isn’t as big as one might think.

Behind the plate Nido has a solid 1.94 pop time on stealing attempts to second, good for 9th best in the big leagues. He also ranks 12th in catcher framing runs and strike rate, 5 and 49.2% respectively.

Conversely, in a small sample size this season, McCann holds a 2.07 pop time. His strike rate is a tad better 51%, with only 1 catcher framing runs, due to his missed time.

What has hurt Nido is the rash of injuries to the Mets pitching staff. This includes the aforementioned Scherzer and DeGrom, but also Carlos Carrasco and Tylor Megill among others.

Is Nido an All-Star level catcher, no but he can fill in admirably and has done so during McCann’s injury. While McCann and Nido aren’t the best catching tandem in the league, the catcher spot is not something that will hold the Mets back for the rest of this season.