New York Mets bring back Devin Mesoraco to compete for backup catching job

In a surprise move, the New York Mets re-signed their former catcher Devin Mesoraco to a minor league contract for the 2019 season. He also got an invite to Spring Training.

In May of last season, the New York Mets were in a quandary regarding former star pitcher Matt Harvey. Fortunately, they found a taker for him in the Cincinnati Reds. As a return, the Mets got Devin Mesoraco and the final year of his contract which paid $13M.

Due to an injury to their starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud, the Mets needed someone to fill the void, which is exactly what they received.

Mesoraco didn’t exactly have a storybook season wearing a Mets uniform. He had a slash line of .222/.306/.409 with 10 home runs. That wasn’t far from his career line of .232/.309/.406, but the Mets needed a little more production from the position.

In his best season, 2014 Mesoraco was an All-Star. He hit a career high of .273 with 25 home runs and 80 runs batted in. He never came close to that production in any other of his eight Major League season.

One thing he did do right last year was work well with the pitching staff. In his statement to Mets.com writer Anthony DiComo team general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said:

"“Devin is greatly respected among our pitching staff and is extremely well prepared. We are hopeful he can contribute in 2019.”"

Earlier this off-season the Mets acquired their new number one catcher, Wilson Ramos. The former Rays and Nationals backstop is expected to provide some much needed offensive production to the lineup.

Now that Mesoraco is back, he faces some stiff competition for the backup job. The Mets still have the incumbent, d’Arnaud on their roster. Additionally, up and comer Tomas Nido is around to provide depth. Their former backup catcher, Kevin Plawecki, was traded to Cleveland in January.

If he makes the main roster, Mesoraco will make $1.75M, otherwise, he’ll collect $250K in the minors.