Terry Collins isn't set on giving the backup catcher position to Mike Nickeas yet. He will have to prove he can hit well enough because Terry doesn't want to have to pinch hit for him in the fifth inning.
Giving him the roster spot right away would never be the right thing to do. The Mets brought in Rob Johnson and Lucas May to fight for the backup catcher role. Johnson is similar to Nickeas in that he his strength has always been defense. Lucas May is a better hitter than either Nickeas or Johnson.
I think it will come down to Nickeas and Johnson battling for the position and Nickeas ultimately getting it. The Mets already have an offensive catcher in Josh Thole so having another as backup wouldn't make much sense. Nickeas or Johnson would give the Mets the defensive side of the game.
As for why Mike Nickeas should get the spot over Rob Johnson, it's simply because Nickeas is more familiar with the pitchers and organization. The rotation will certainly include R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball and Mike Pelfrey and his . . . everything. Nickeas has experience with the knuckleball and actually has some success catching it. Nickeas has also been able to work with Pelfrey, who has a history of only being comfortable with certain catchers. Mike has also had the assignment of catching prospects and some of the young guys throughout his time in the minor leagues. I'd like to believe that working with some of the future means he knows where the organization wants to go and can work with the same mindset as the pitchers.
The word out of camp is that Nickeas spent the offseason shortening his swing. Hopefully that will provide more consistent results than whatever he had going on last season.
The good news is that it means he will have to be playing more to show what he's got.
Let's Go Mets!
Giving him the roster spot right away would never be the right thing to do. The Mets brought in Rob Johnson and Lucas May to fight for the backup catcher role. Johnson is similar to Nickeas in that he his strength has always been defense. Lucas May is a better hitter than either Nickeas or Johnson.I think it will come down to Nickeas and Johnson battling for the position and Nickeas ultimately getting it. The Mets already have an offensive catcher in Josh Thole so having another as backup wouldn't make much sense. Nickeas or Johnson would give the Mets the defensive side of the game.
As for why Mike Nickeas should get the spot over Rob Johnson, it's simply because Nickeas is more familiar with the pitchers and organization. The rotation will certainly include R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball and Mike Pelfrey and his . . . everything. Nickeas has experience with the knuckleball and actually has some success catching it. Nickeas has also been able to work with Pelfrey, who has a history of only being comfortable with certain catchers. Mike has also had the assignment of catching prospects and some of the young guys throughout his time in the minor leagues. I'd like to believe that working with some of the future means he knows where the organization wants to go and can work with the same mindset as the pitchers.
The word out of camp is that Nickeas spent the offseason shortening his swing. Hopefully that will provide more consistent results than whatever he had going on last season.
The good news is that it means he will have to be playing more to show what he's got.
Let's Go Mets!
No comments:
Post a Comment