New York Mets Free Agent Decisions: Devin Mesoraco

We being to take a look at the free agent decisions the New York Mets have to make during this offseason. The first player up in Devin Mesoraco.

As we move into the offseason we start looking at prep for next year. Now, the New York Mets have some work to do first. They are going to have to decide on a general manager before they start making player moves.

But so what? As fans of the team, what do we do best when it comes to the offseason? We talk about what the team is supposed to be doing and generally tell them what to do. We are all general managers, am I right? It’s what fans do.

So to get that ball rolling we look at the Mets free agent list. Spotrac is a website that is excellent for compiling team contracts and with that, tracking the list of upcoming free agents.

Tonight, we begin the review of Mets free agents with one that came over during an in-season trade. Tonight, we look at catcher Devin Mesoraco.

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Mesoraco began his career with the Reds. He actually started the career well, being named to the All-Star game back in 2014.

Back in May of 2018, Mesoraco was traded to the Mets in return for Matt Harvey.

Many were surprised by the move as the Mets were prepping to release Harvey. Be that as it may, Mesoraco was now a member of the Mets.

Now Mesoraco wasn’t a big offensive threat. With the Mets, he hit .222 with ten home runs and 30 RBI in 66 games.

He threw the ball fairly well, throwing out 11 out of 41 runners attempting to steal for a 21% caught stealing percentage.

Mesoraco’s most influential work, however, came as the battery mate of this guy named Jacob deGrom.

Ever hear of him?

dark. Next. Takeaways from the 2018 New York Mets season

In 2018, deGrom’s best performances came with Mesoraco as his catcher. In 21 starts with Mesoraco, opponents hit for a .193 batting average against the Cy Young Award candidate and should-be winner.

It was evident when he pitched to Mesoraco as opposed to Kevin Plawecki. Besides the performance going down (by deGrom standards), there were more visits to the mound with Plawecki. Those two just couldn’t get on the same page.

The Mets don’t really have an answer at the catching position on the farm at this point. Tomas Nido has not been any form of impressive so far. In limited time in the big leagues he has been unable to reach a .200 batting average.

Spotrac sets Mesoraco’s market value at $5.1 million and that seems fair. The Mets should make this type of offer for his services. Keep him around while they find a catcher to be the long-term answer.

If he can find more money elsewhere than let him just go on his way.

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