The Mets signed catcher Rob Johnson to a minor league deal. Like Mike Nickeas he is a defensively-oriented catcher. Last year he posted a 3.26 catchers ERA while hitting only .190 for the Padres.
Naturally the first thing I thought of was that Mike Nickeas might not be the backup catcher after all. There will be competition now. Once Spring Training rolls around I will be the only person that cares about the backup catcher competition but right now more people are acknowledging it. Nothing has ever been handed to Nickeas during his baseball career. And this signing will keep his career that way. And the pessimist in me keeps saying the signing just means he won't ever really be a big leaguer.
But then there's the other side of me that's trying to make this positive. Perhaps the Mets just signed Johnson to be minor league depth. Maybe the minor league deal actually means he'll spend the season in the minor leagues. Or maybe Johnson was signed to show that Mike Nickeas is not the worst option out there. Maybe this was just a move to motivate Nickeas, not that he would need any outside motivation. But maybe, just maybe, the Mets still plan on going with Nickeas as their backup catcher.
Oh, what the offseason has come to.
Let's Go Mets!
1 comment:
I would guess that there will be a real competition in spring training, with the winner getting the ML backup job & the loser playing in Buffalo. Nickeas has the advantage of already being on the 40-man roster.
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