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New York Mets Rumors: Chicago Cubs Could Be Interested in Catcher Rene Rivera

By Michael Addvensky

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 19: Jake Arrieta (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 19: Jake Arrieta (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 23: Rene Rivera (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 23: Rene Rivera (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The New York Mets dealt Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. In all likelihood, this is not the only trade that the team will make before Monday’s deadline.

With their season seemingly not going anywhere, the New York Mets are currently fielding trade offers on a few players. According to reports, the next guy on the move could be catcher Rene Rivera.

The Chicago Cubs are interested in acquiring a backup catcher, and it appears as though they are considering Rivera as one of their options.

According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOXsports.com, the Cubs are looking for a defense-first type catcher.

If this is true, then Rivera would definitely be a good fit for the Cubbies. He has always been known as a defense-first type catcher who only recently started to gain some attention for his hitting.

In 41 starts this season, Rivera has only committed one error. He has thrown out 11 baserunners trying to steal against him in 29 attempts (37.9%). Rivera has also only allowed one passed ball this year.

At the plate, Rivera has had a decent season for a backup catcher. In 151 at-bats, he is hitting .238 with six home runs and 20 RBI. Over the past two seasons for the Mets, Rivera has started to show flashes of power that we have not seen from him for most of his career.

Earlier in the week, there were rumblings that there could actually be a market for Rivera. On Tuesday, Mike Puma of The New York Post reported that the Cubs were one of the teams possibly interested in acquiring him.

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson has already shown that he is willing to start selling off assets. Lucas Duda was the first of a few players that the team could end up parting ways with before the trade deadline on Monday.

If Alderson can get anything from the Cubs in exchange for Rivera, then he should accept a trade.

Next: New York Mets: Lucas Duda Traded to Tampa Bay Rays for Prospect Drew Smith

The way things look right now, the Mets are not going anywhere this season. A 33-year-old backup catcher will not be much use to them at this point, so they might as well trade him.

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