For the New York Mets, they could coin a different phrase. “If you can’t beat him, sign him.”
For years, Wilson Ramos has continuously hammered the Mets. In his 303 career plate appearances against them, Wilson is slugging a .302 average with 86 hits, 12 home runs, and 63 RBIs. Against all of the other NL East teams, Ramos does not hit above .300, including swinging a lowly .225 career against the Miami Marlins. The bottom line is that Ramos was a Met killer, through and through.
Now, donning the blue and orange, Ramos is already proving to be a Met helper. Not only has Ramos been swinging a good bat, but he has shown off a throwing arm that the team has not seen in quite some time. For the Mets, this signing was one of the best signings of the offseason, and could prove to be one of the more under the radar signings across the league.
The two year, $19 million contract was not considered a major splash. In fact, it may have even appeared to been a fall back deal after Yasmani Grandal rejected a deal from the Mets. What this deal does for the Mets is give them a veteran backstop who has worked with elite pitching before such as Max Scherzer and Blake Snell. Knowing that, it is no surprise that news broke that Ramos was working on his relationship with the resident ace of the Mets, Jacob deGrom.
Ramos told Dan Martin of the New York Post “He’s No. 1 in the rotation and I’m the everyday catcher. A good relationship is important for us. I want him to want me behind the plate every day.”
He should make not only deGrom happy, but Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz happy as well. Ramos has experience throwing runners out from behind the plate. Anyone who watched the Mets last season saw that the team had an obvious problem with letting runners steal on them. The Mets finished next to last in stolen bases allowed last season, and Ramos should help to improve that number.
Although it is only Spring Training, Ramos has already stirred some well-deserved excitement. His grand slam to put the Mets ahead of the Astros on March 2nd brought an element of swagger to the Mets that they have been lacking. This added to the already successful spring he is having, batting .467 so far with a 1.167 OPS.
While the Mets did not spend hundreds of millions on a free agent acquisition this winter, they made many moves that will pay off for them. Ramos however might be the move with the most significant impact to the team immediately. Most teams around the league that are successful have a competent catcher behind the plate, which is something that the Mets have been lacking. Now that they are ready to compete, Ramos was the perfect move for the team.
I remember Ramos as a rookie on the Twins. He took over for an injured Joe Mauer and impressed. He was billed as an offensive catcher with a strong arm, but had other defensive shortcomings. Unfortunately, the Twins traded him and he has been trying to find a stable home. As the Mets have been trying a stable catcher, it might be a good fit.
The Ramos signing looks like it will yield good value, I’d rather have him than Grandal. Will the Mets have 3 catchers on their roster to start the season, they just might.