I’ve previewed non-roster invitees to camp for the better part of a decade, and writing one for Tomás Nido is one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had. I know Nido! You know Nido! Francisco Lindor listed him as the teammate he couldn’t wait to see in the Mets socials a couple of weeks ago:
First day of school energy 😄🍎📚 pic.twitter.com/W8HhSbDniE
— New York Mets (@Mets) February 13, 2024
So how did we get here? Nido started the season in 2023 essentially as the back up catcher to Omar Narváez. Narváez ended up on the injured list fairly early in the season and Francisco Álvarez was called up to join Nido to split catching duties. In mid-May the Mets placed Nido on the injured list with dry-eye syndrome and recalled Michael Pérez. Days before doing this though the Mets signed Gary Sánchez to a minor league contract (additional context, the Mets had to move Narváez to the 60-day injured list). So it’s May and the Mets have already had multiple injuries to catchers, including Nido, and had already used five catchers in games.
After completing his rehab last year Nido activated in late May and then DFA’d in the first week of June, he was then outrighted to Syracuse and played for them the rest of the season. That’s how Nido ended off of the Mets roster.
In 22 games last season he hit .125/.153/.125 over 61 plate appearances which translated to a -22 OPS+. This was a massive departure from his previous season where he played in 98 games hitting .239/.276/.324 over 313 plate appearances with a 72 OPS+. He led the league in 2022 with 12 sacrifice hits. Nido is not in the lineup for his offense though, he’s there for his defense. In 2022 he was in the 94th percentile according to Baseball Savant in fielding run value. For catchers specifically, he was in the 92nd percentile in blocks above average and 90th for framing.
Chances are we are going to see Nido at some point this year in Queens. He knows the pitching staff well and in Syracuse he has been and will be working with the pitchers of the future. If there is a long term injury to a catcher or the Mets are able to move Omar Narváez, it will be Nido time again in Queens!
