Veteran catcher Rene Rivera joined the New York Mets for his fourth stint in Flushing. He was third on the catcher depth chart, but an unfortunate injury ended his season after two games. Rivera needed surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow, causing the Mets to dive deep in their catching depth.
Rene Rivera launches a two-run home run off Steven Matz in the Mets' simulated game ? pic.twitter.com/iY5e1eNF1z
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 21, 2020
Rivera picked up his only hit of the season in a blowout loss to the Braves. Three days later, Rivera got his only start of the season with Jacob deGrom on the mound. Rivera struck out in all three of his at-bats, and deGrom showed some frustration with him. deGrom threw a couple of wild pitches and asked Rivera what happened. deGrom’s frustration was with himself after making a couple of mistakes.
Another Campaign in NY?
As Rivera head into his age-37 season, he likely has to latch on to minor league deals to play in 2021. Defensively, he is still a terrific defensive catcher with a strong arm. It is unlikely he returns to the Mets due to the franchise trying to revamp their catching core after parting with two other veteran catchers.
2020 Grades On 20-80 Scale (2021 Projection)
Hitting: 40 (25).
Power: 20 (30).
Run: 20 (20), The Mets might have the slowest catching core in baseball.
Arm: 65 (65).
Fielding: 55 (55).
Overall: 30 (25). Hope Rivera gets a chance to play in the big leagues again.