MARCH 27th: The Mets are leaning towards having Plawecki open the season as the backup catcher on the big league roster, Rubin writes.  However, they have told scouts to keep their eyes peeled for an available backup catcher.  Rubin adds that the Mets are not all that interested in out-of-options Tigers catcher Bryan Holaday.
MARCH 13th: The Mets are telling teams that they are looking to land a backup catcher, a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. As it stands, the Mets have Kevin Plawecki slotted in as the backup for starter Travis d’Arnaud.
If Plawecki were to remain on the big league roster, he wouldn’t see a whole lot of playing time with d’Arnaud serving as the team’s primary backstop.  Team officials are mulling the idea of putting the 25-year-old in Triple-A to get some at-bats and, if they go that route, they feel it is necessary to go out-of-house to get a new understudy for d’Arnaud.  The source tells Rubin that the team is not happy with its other internal catching options, including Johnny Monell.
Over the weekend, Mets manager Terry Collins was asked where Plawecki could open the season and he indicated that things are fluid:
“We haven’t had that discussion as to where he’s going to fit the best, or what we think is the best for everyone involved. That has not taken place. What we’ve got to do is take what we think are the best 25 and get out of the gate and go from there. If the conversation goes to, ’Hey, look, we need to have this guy ready to be an everyday guy,’ he may have to go play [in Las Vegas]. If we think we’re better off being able to get him two to three games a week at times [backing up d’Arnaud], then he’s got a good chance of making the club.”
Plawecki, a first-round pick in the 2012 draft, saw 258 plate appearances for the Mets last season and slashed just .219/.280/.296 with three homers. Â In parts of two seasons at Triple-A, the catcher hit .262/.318/.392.
JP Arencibia is 5-for-15 with a HR and 2 2B and is very unlikely to make the Phillies roster with Cam Rupp and Carlos Ruiz on the roster.
I’d hold on to Arencibia. He looks rejuvenated and is still fairly young. Give them Chooch & cash for De Aza. Phils need an another outfielder, at least until Altherr comes back. De Aza could be a flip candidate later on.
Arencibia, Bobby Wilson, Brian Holaday, plenty of options.
Bryan Holaday seems like a decent option
The Padres trio will have to bend or break here soon as well, Hedges has options, Bethancourt doesn’t and Norris appears to be the starter and the least likely to get moved. The knock on Hedges so far in his brief MLB career is that his bat is way behind his glove, so the thought process was to bring in Bethancourt and allow Hedges to play everyday in AAA to develop his bat. So far in Spring Training his hitting looks much improved so we shall see what the Padres decide to do. Maybe the Mets and Padres make a deal.
Problem is that it gives the Mets A duplicate of the same problem. Another young player who needs everyday playing time.
David Ross. Log jam in Boston.
Ross is with the Cubs, champ.
Details….
Are you now trading other teams player?
I wanted them to explore picking up Vogt at the deadline last season from Oakland.
Vogt costs nothing and is Beane’s fave player – Mets gunna have to give up one of their ace SPs to get him – not happening.
I think it’s a safe bet that the A’s aren’t getting one of the Mets SP for Stephen Vogt.
Austin Romine anyone
Austin Romine is making the Yankees as the backup
O’s should trade one of their backups for DeGrom.
That’s stupid, they wouldn’t trade DeGrom for a backup, you would have to be on some drug to do that
I think he was joking
It’s a joke Josh.
I knew I could get a reaction from someone.
XD
Austin Romine anybody
If it weren’t for Molina I could see the Mets and Cards trying to work something out involving Pena and a SS from NY
Maybe contact the Tigers? Holaday might be available and he’s having a great ST.
Tigers: Bryan Holaday for a pitching prospect perhaps?
Or Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Seattle now has catchers Chris Iannetta, Steve Clevenger, Rob Brantly and Mike Zunino. Either Clevenger or Brantly should be expendable.
Ryan Hanigan would be a great pickup for the Mets. Hanigan would have a positive impact on the Mets young starters.
Agree with this
Except the Sox need him more than the 2 rookies!!
Disagree!! They need him more than the 2 unproven rookies. Sox won 2013 WS using Salty most of the year, but once October hit Ross was behind the plate. They need a veteran behind the dish to make the pitchers more comfortable!!
James McCann for Alejandro De Aza and 4.5 MM.
Detroit is definitely not trading their starting catcher for a 4th OF. Research your proposals before posting crud like this in future. I’d suggest looking over the up-to-the-minute depth charts at roster resource:
rosterresource.com/mlb-detroit-tigers
I would add Chris Stewart as a dark horse candidate. He isn’t likey to be traded because he just received a 2 year extension and last year he was Cole’s personal catcher. Elias Diaz is ready for the big leagues, but he’s blocked right now. Cervelli has only had one healthy season, so having 3 big league catchers isnt the worst problem to have. But if the Mets make an offer NH couldnt refuse, I wouldnt be shocked to see Stewart on the move
No part of this makes sense, unless Pittsburgh is really going out of their way to piss off Cole.
Call the Yankees, Romine is out of options…
I don’t know why they didn’t just keep Recker.
Since thole was a huge part of the dickey trade, we’ll trade u him back for syndegaard
Lol
No reason to option Plawecki down. A backup catcher is still going to start at least twice a week. And let’s not forget D’A has yet to prove he can stay healthy.
It’s a development issue: Plawecki might be an everyday guy if he gets the reps in and his bat fully comes on. d’Arnaud is injury prone and I could see him getting traded if Plawecki starts hitting.
The Mets don’t have much depth here. After Plawecki the alternative is Johnny Monell. He turns 30 today, happy birthday Johnny, and has never played in the Majors. Even if they keep Plawecki in the Majors they should want some AAA depth.
Monell played in the majors last season with the Mets
Missed that on MLB.com’s page. He didn’t play much.
The mets should inquire on Hector Sanchez with the WhiteSox. Hector has played as back up catcher on two SF Giants World Series teams and was considered the main back up to Posey until he sustained several concussions a couple of years ago. He has a good bat, some pop and is a good RBI man and still in his 20’s. Great team guy. Worth a phone call.
d”Arnaud hasn’t been a durable player. He’s been hurt basically every season of his professional career. The Mets could use an experienced backup for when d”Arnaud inevitably gets hurt again.
KP needs at bats and should start in AAA. What I’ve seen of Monell he’s far from terrible. But the Mets don’t seem to keep the same backup.
Xorge Carrillo should get a look. He’s one of the best defensive catchers they have. Calls the game well, blocks, quick pop time, handles pitchers. Bat may be a bit shy but not by much and the defense is MLB ready.