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5 major "wild cards" that can define the 2023 season
By Tim Boyle
3) NY Mets wild card: Everything about the catcher spot
A few things about the catcher spot have wild card written all over it. The team traded James McCann this offseason after already adding Omar Narvaez to the roster through free agency. Narvaez will split time behind the plate with Tomas Nido to begin the year while Francisco Alvarez does everything in his power to find playing time in the majors.
It doesn’t seem as if there is much room for Alvarez on the Mets other than after an injury. He could be a right-handed DH option. Even then, his playing time would be far too limited.
The Mets will be counting on Narvaez to have a much better season than he did in 2022. The lifetime .258/.343/.386 hitter slashed just .206/.292/.305 last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a disappointing follow-up from his previous two full seasons—one with the Seattle Mariners in 2019 and with the Brewers when he was an All-Star in 2021.
Has Narvaez hit a low point in his career he cannot climb out of? His sharp decline last season would be burdensome for the Mets. Although they aren’t counting on much offense from the catcher spot, we’re all hopeful for improvement.
Nido is what he is and that’s an occasional clutch hitter whose best asset is how he works with pitchers. He’s not so much a wild card. Narvaez’s performance and timing or even finding a way to promote Alvarez is.