There are ton of people across Facebook and Twitter that just DO NOT like this trade, and all I can really say to that is “oh well”. They must have high expectations of this kid and might be looking for him to catch 135 games, I’m definitely not.
It’s no secret that the Mets would’ve liked to move one of their catchers from the start of the offseason, but now since acquisition of Omar Narvaez, the Mets really don’t have much of a choice, they have to move someone.
So we should definitely expect for either McCann or Nido to hit the chopping block, and I could definitely see the Rangers being interested in both.
But let’s say hypothetically, the Mets have traded away McCann, this is how I would handle the situation behind the plate.
You can start Alvarez with Syracuse while Nido and Narvaez split the duties behind the dish to start the season. They would platoon with Narvaez facing RHP’s and Nido squaring up against the LHP’s.
With this kind of split, they would not been seeing action at a 50/50 split, clearly Narvaez will get a lot more looks.
Meanwhile, Alvarez needs to work on his skills as a catcher. Offensively, the kid is a monster and it’ll be very exciting to watch. Defensively, I just have no idea what we’re in for just yet. It would help tremendously if pitchers like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander could take Alvarez under their wings.
Obviously this is something we never see, with two opposing positions, but if the veterans can teach Alvarez to catch and call the Scherzer’s and the Verlander’s of the league, then the Peterson’s and Megill’s should come a lot easier.
Now after showcasing Nido for a couple of months, the Mets could then move Nido via trading for a younger, mid level prospect.
Once Alvarez is called back up to the Mets, I let Alvarez start off by catching 65% of the games, while hopefully proving that he can more.
Corné’s Cut:
I didn’t like the move, I don’t see Narvaez as a clear upgrade, especially if you have to include value (money or player) in a way to trade McCann. But it is what it is and the Mets did make the move for Narvaez. So time to turn to wishing the best out of this situation and hoping “I am Wrong!”.
But how would I make this work? Before 2022, Narvaez was a very good hitter vs RH. In 2021, he had a OPS above .800 vs RH, so hopefully he will return to that form.
It’s clear that the Mets should give Narvaez the bulk of the time facing RH and Nido facing lefties (if McCann is the one traded). This way you should have a solid hitter vs RH with a mediocre hitter vs LH, but both solid defenders.
Alvarez should work on his defense at AAA, maybe learning from a veteran catcher on a minor league deal. I don’t like Alvarez being strictly a DH.
Mets Junkies 