Free agency has officially started, and the first step for all 30 major league teams is to determine which options should they exercise and which players they will opt not to re-sign for the 2021 season. The New York Mets have a couple of cases.
One of them is starting catcher Wilson Ramos. The New York Mets won’t be exercising his $10 million club option for the 2021 season according to New York Post’s Mike Puma, and that officially makes him eligible to sign with any team of his liking.
It also marks the start of the search for a starting catcher by the Mets, who are just a couple of steps away from having a new owner in Steve Cohen.
Given Ramos’ mediocre showing in the 2020 short season, the decision is not coming as a huge surprise. He slashed .239/.297/.387 with a .297 wOBA and a 89 wRC+, hitting five homers in 45 games. Although he managed to improve defensively, his performance was still subpar and the Mets are deciding to move on.
The Mets will be paying a $1.5 million buyout per the terms of the deal he signed before the 2019 season, and he will look for a different club.
His Mets tenure was a disappointment
Ramos was good in 2019, hitting for a 105 wRC+ (basically a tad above league average) but since he came with big expectations, his overall tenure with the Mets was somewhat disappointing.
Ramos’ defensive struggles in 2019 were well-documented, as several hurlers, most notably Noah Syndergaard, openly said that they prefered to throw to Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera, the team’s backup options.
Ramos, since the start of the 2019 campaign, has allowed a whopping 122 stolen bases, by far the highest number in Major League Baseball.
Despite his suspect defense and seemingly declining bat, Ramos should have no problem finding a major league deal in the open market.