If you look to any recent World Series winning teams, you’ll notice a definite pattern. Just glance behind the plate, and you’ll find a veteran catcher commanding the game. Not only are they veterans in the sense of simply games played, but also in experience in different high-pressure situations in the post and regular seasons.
Whether it be Salvador Pérez of the Kansas City Royals, or David Ross of the Chicago Cubs, a veteran catcher that stays healthy is key to deep October run.The Mets currently are planning to stick with Travis d’Arnaud as their starting catcher, a move that shows their loyalty to developing him as their catcher of the present and the future. This idea may seem nice in theory, but it may not only hinder the progress of the young catcher, but also hurt the playoff chances for our heroes from Queens. A possible solution for the Mets would be to sign free agent catcher Matt Wieters.
Originally drafted fifth overall in the 2007 draft by Baltimore, the switch-hitting Wieters was described by Joshua Sadlock of birdswatcher.com as a “Joe Mauer with power.”
Wieters was drafted from Georgia Tech with the intent of saving the then non-competitive Orioles. Described as having “A rifle arm, power to all fields, and a refined approach at the plate,”(Sadlock) he was expected to come up to the majors and rake.
Although he never quite reached Mauer levels, Wieters proved himself to be a valuable veteran catcher. Wieters would go on to win two Gold Gloves and be selected to four All-Star Games, including the 2016 season. If you look past his abysmal-appearing stat line of .243/.302/.409 from the 2016 campaign, you find a solid veteran that clubbed more home runs and drove in more RBIs than the Mets catchers as a whole unit in 2016, while remaining healthy throughout the season.
Looking past the stat line, you’ll see the 17 home runs and 66 RBIs that he hit in 2016 (each more than double d’Arnaud’s total.) Also, you’ll find that while Wieters’s WAR was only a 1.7, it was still better than d’Arnaud’s horrific WAR of -0.8. Not to mention, Wieters will catch more runners stealing than d’Arnaud, with Wieters’s CS% at .348 compared to d’Arnaud’s which finished at a lowly .207. Although fewer people attempted to steal on Wieters than on d’Arnaud, Wieters still threw out six more runners than d’Arnaud. A stronger-armed gunner behind the plate could be extremely helpful to a Mets pitching staff that is notoriously noted for having slow deliveries to the plate.
Not only did Wieters best d’Arnaud in hits, home runs, doubles, and RBIS, but also in games played. Last year, d’Arnaud caught only 73 games, while Wieters caught 117. This type of consistency behind the plate may be what the Mets need to ascend to the next level.
By no means does acquiring Wieters cast d’Arnaud in the shadows though. In fact, signing the free agent may benefit the young Mets catcher. Wieters on a short-term deal would allow the former O’s catcher to join a team that can contend, while allowing d’Arnaud to learn under a crafty veteran. The Mets can free up money for Wieters by trading one of their corner outfielders, killing two birds with one stone in the process.
While signing him would not guarantee a World Series Trophy for the Mets, it would certainly help the cause. It would follow the formula that solid catching leads to solid results in the postseason.
Sounds like it might work, but trading that corner outfielder to free up money is easier said than done, they’ve been trying to peddle Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson for a while now.
Outfield market has been agonizingly slow this year. I like weiters but I think he’s going to get a nice pay day since catchers are so hard to come by these days. I think TdA is 28 now so I think weiters on the team would set TdA back. Like you said, I believe the Mets are commited to trying to pry TdA’s full potential out of him. I hope they can do it
Frank, I think that the market for Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson is dependent on where Mark Trumbo signs. If he does leave Baltimore, the Orioles will be looking for a power hitting right fielder, of which the Mets posses two. Add in the fact that Camden Yards is very hitter friendly, and it seems that Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson would be great fits for the Orioles for possibly a reliever in return.
For this to work you have to trade an outfielder and get rid of d’Arnaud because at 27 too old to be a prospect backup.
I think the chances of the Mets getting Wieters are just slightly above none. The only way is if he takes a contract like Ian Desmond took last year to rebuild his trade value. Desmond got 1/$8 and I’m figuring it would need to be even cheaper than that to get the Mets to bite. Maybe something like 1/$6? It’s hard to imagine him not being able to beat that somewhere
In past years, we would have had Wieters going to Washington to replace Robles, just because of the tight relationship between Boras and the Nats. Instead, the Nationals went out and got a guy who hit .186 with a .583 OPS last year to be their primary catcher.
So, do they believe so much in Severino that they didn’t want to go a multi-year deal to get Wieters? Or was there not room in the budget to get him?
I believe that Severino has more time to develop than Travis D’Arnaud. Signing Matt Wieters to a mulit-year deal with the Nationals would put them in a similar spot that the Mets are currently in. A catcher in the crossroads of his career, yet to develop his offensive game completely. Let Wieters come to the Mets on a one or two year deal, and he may show Travis d’Arnaud a thing or two behind and at the plate. That way when Wieters leaves, d’Arnaud is ready to produce at a consistent level. Of course, aqcuiring Weiters is dependent on the Mets trading either Curtis Granderson or Jay Bruce.
I was a big advocate of Wieters at the start of hot stove. But the ship has sailed, so no matter what would seem to make sense is not going to happen. The boss made it clear, the team is all in on TdA in a way that sounds like its true.
1. Alderson is the biggest double speak guy in the land of MLB. In this case he has made it crystal clear.
2. They hired a new 3B coach in Glenn Sherlock, who also happens to be a catcher and catching coach.
3. They hired Rene Rivera.
The Wieters experiment is over. Also keep in mind, the present financial status is above the comfort zone. Not only will they need to unload Bruce, an replacement will come with a far smaller contract. I expect the starting day financial load to be about 140M$. Its fun to talk about replacing Bruce’s salary with a high end guy or two upper mid level guys, but the fact is, salary is going down.
“So, do they believe so much in Severino that they didn’t want to go a multi-year deal to get Wieters? Or was there not room in the budget to get him?”
Or they believe that Norris luck will change and he won’t have a .238 BABIP again?
Sure, that’s a possibility.
Still, we’re looking at a guy in Norris with a lifetime .689 OPS. And most of that damage was against LHP. He really should be a platoon guy. Maybe they hope Severino is ready now and that Norris is the safe fallback guy. I don’t pretend to know.
I just find it odd that there had been very little (no?) chatter about Wieters going to Washington, especially given their productive relationship with Boras. He’s not going there now, I get it. I just find it surprising, that’s all.
I did a quick google search and found a decent number of articles.
Here’s one that says they are still interested even after Norris. http://districtondeck.com/2016/12/04/washington-nationals-matt-wieters-still-target/
I saw one from ESPN and other fan run blogs.
He isn’t going to get much national attention though because he’s not a top FA and there are/were bigger stories like McCutchen/Sale. Not many care where Weiters is going to end up
The money to be saved by trading away Bruce is earmarked for the bullpen.
Rene Rivera is already signed. It wouldn’t make any sense to carry Rivera, d’Arnaud, and Weiters.
Signing Weiters instead of Rivera would have been great.
But I still think d’Arnaud can be very good. I think his struggles last year were entirely related to not being totally healthy.
To me, he has already shown he can be a very good (and clutch) hitter for the Mets, and also proven he can do it in NYC.
Besides the many parts that make no sense (The opening paragraph is especially bizarro – In what world is Salvador Perez a veteran?), the main premise that we need a veteran to buy more time for TDA is flawed, as the trial period for TDA is about to come to a close because of arbitration.
He’l be making ~1.7 mil next year, which is right on par for backup catcher money. But in 2018, he’s poised to get at least 2.5+, and most likely in the low 3s, which means if he doesn’t show he can be more than a backup and stay on the field, he’s a non-tender candidate.
There is no more time to develop him, he needs to put up or he’ll be gone.
Compared to Travis d’Arnaud, Salvador Pérez is a veteran. Pérez has played more than double the amount of games than d’Arnaud has, while also being able to produce consistently. Also, having two solid catchers at the Major League level and a quality catcher at the ready in Las Vegas wouldn’t be a terrible idea considering d’Arnaud’s track record of injuries.
“Played more games than Travis D’arnaud” is not a definition of a veteran
And the second part of your response is completely off-topic and doesn’t answer TDA’s soon to be escalating salary
To answer the issue on Travis d’Arnaud’s salary, even if he should regress to a bench player the Mets would most likely have no issue paying the 2.5 or 3+. Keep in mind we are talking about the team that payed Alejandro de Aza 5.75 million to have a -2 WAR and strike out once every four at bats. Therefore even if d’Arnaud fails to adjust under Matt Wieters, the Mets would still have him there for consistent offensive production.
Also worth mentioning that if d’Arnaud rebounds and starts hitting you can have Wieters play first.
The Mets should upgrade the catching position. If they wanted to they should have upgraded Rene Rivera with a better fielding, better hitting left handed batting Jason Kendall at 8/24 but they passed on it. They still can improve by flipping Jay Bruce’s salary for Weiters. Just because Rivera signed, he can still be cut much like Tejada was last year. TDA had a wonderful stretch of games in the second half of 2015 but has looked pitiful since. The Mets should not be pinning their playoff hopes on TDA. Weiters is an upgrade and Alderson is making a mistake in not upgrading the catcher position.
Weiters is definitely better than d’Arnaud but not enough better to jusitfy the type of contract he’s after. I am no fan of d’Arnaud as most of you all know, but by today’s standards he’s an average catcher with a cheap salary. Look around the league. You can count the really good catchers on one hand – Posey, Molina, Russell, Perez, Lucroy. Everyone else is old, unproven, injury prone or flawed. McCann? Left-handed, older, pricey.