Insider suggests New York Mets seek a reunion with veteran catcher

One MLB insider believes the New York Mets should be looking to reunite with one of their former veteran catchers to fill the void left by the Francisco Alvarez injury

Apr 24, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets catcher Tomas Nido (3) between plays against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

New York Mets spring sraining was rocked with the news of Francisco Alvarez’s broken hamate bone on Sunday. As a result, the Mets could consider a potential reunion with a veteran catcher before Opening Day. 

SNY baseball insider Andy Martino was quick to suggest that the Mets should look externally to fill the void left by Alvarez’s injury. It is expected that Alvarez will be out for at least 6-8 weeks to start the season, although hamate bone injuries have been known to hamper a batter’s swing for a much longer period. The Mets’ catcher will undergo surgery to repair the injury to his left hand on Monday, as manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters. 

While free agent catchers like former Met James McCann and Yasmani Grandal are still on the market, Martino believes the team should reunite with Tomas Nido. The 30-year-old catcher is currently in spring training with the Detroit Tigers after signing a minor league contract with the team in January. 

My speculation: What about a trade for Tomas Nido for Mets? Currently in Tigers camp. It takes time to learn a staff and Nido has relationships here. Torrens/Nido would be a fine stopgap combo until Alvarez returns.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) March 9, 2025

Nido played for the Mets for eight seasons as their primary backup catcher. He was released by the team last June and signed by the Chicago Cubs where he played in 17 games to end the year. In 306 career games for the Mets, Nido slashed .214/.251/.313 while belting 17 home runs and 86 RBI. More importantly, Nido has a career .990 fielding percentage behind the plate and has committed just 26 errors in eight seasons. 

Read More: New York Mets outside catching options with Francisco Alvarez out

The Mets entered camp with Alvarez and Luis Torrens as their only big league catchers on the 40-man roster. On Sunday, backup catcher Jakson Reetz hit a grand slam over the wall in left field. Behind Reetz, the Mets have Chris Williams and Hayden Senger, both of whom have zero major league experience. 

Jakson Reetz is 1 internal option that can serve as the Mets’ backup catcher to Luis Torrens while Alvarez is out pic.twitter.com/yWh8s0sH2b

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) March 9, 2025

President of baseball operations David Stearns said on Sunday that the Mets would be looking internally first before considering external options. It should be noted that Stearns signed Grandal when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2019 so there is some familiarity with the veteran as a potential temporary stopgap. 

"We'll see. I think we feel good about the guys we have in camp," Stearns told the media on Sunday. "Anytime you have an injury to a regular player, you're going to see what's out there. But we don't anticipate this being an extremely lengthy injury."

"We'll see. I think we feel good about the guys we have in camp."

David Stearns was asked if the Mets will look outside the organization for catching help: pic.twitter.com/6ZFVTCIJTu

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 9, 2025

The Mets will start the season without starting pitchers Frankie Montas [high-grade lat strain] and Sean Manaea [right oblique strain], and are now down their starting catcher. The one solace for Mets fans is that these injuries are popping up during spring training and not in September. For now, it appears the Mets will stand pat with eighteen days left until Opening Day in Houston.