The New York Mets 2024 campaign has not gone according to plan. The blue and orange are 10 games under .500 (23-33) and have dealt with a slew of injuries and underperformance from players who were supposed to be a huge key to their success. On Friday, the Mets cut bait with one of those underperforming players.
The Mets have designated Omar Narváez for assignment
According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Mets have designated Omar Narváez for assignment. Narváez signed with the Mets before the 2023 season on a two-year $15 million deal to be the starting catcher until Francisco Álvarez was ready to take the leap to the major leagues.
Unfortunately for the blue and orange, Narváez never quite found his footing in 2023 due to suffering a medium-high-grade calf strain early in the campaign. By the time the former all-star got healthy, Álvarez had taken over the starting role.
Narváez got delegated to the backup role to begin the 2024 campaign, and despite moving into the starting role following Álvarez tearing his ulnar collateral ligament, the 32-year-old’s performance has not improved.
The 32-year-old has slashed .154/.191/.185 across 28 games with no home runs and five RBIs alongside an abysmal 12 OPS+. Defensively, the former all-star hasn’t fared much better. Narváez has a -7 defensive runs saved above average and has thrown out just two of the 35 steal attempts.
Who is taking Narváez’s spot?
Tomás Nido will now take over the starting catching role for the time being until Álvarez, who began a rehab assignment on Thursday with Double-A Binghamton, is ready to return to the major leagues.
The 30-year-old is slashing .233/.260/.370 across 29 games, along with three home runs and seven RBIs, and should be able to hold down the fort for the time being. Backing up Nido will be the newly acquired Luis Torrens.
Torrens has spent 2024 with the Yankees Triple-A affiliate and performed exceptionally well, slashing .279/.339/.469 across 30 games with five home runs and 19 RBIs. The 28-year-old will look to take advantage of his shot at the big league level and force president of baseball operations David Stearns to make a difficult decision when Álvarez is set to return.