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The New York Mets, if nothing else, have been a source of great interest this offseason. With a new leadership structure in place in the front office, they have made it clear that they are going to be pushing to win now and their words and actions have backed that notion up. Earlier this offseason, they put together a big time trade that brought in both Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz without having to take on all of Cano’s contract. Lately, they have been rumored to be connected to several high profile free agent and trade targets, most notably the Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto.
Well, it looks like the Mets are no longer in the market for Realmuto’s services.
Mets have a two-year deal with catcher Wilson Ramos, source confirms to Yahoo Sports. First with the agreement was @DaniAlvarez_16. Another club out of the J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 16, 2018
While Wilson Ramos is no longer as good a player as Realmuto is, he is still a fine catcher and was, along with Yasmani Grandal. one of the absolute best options on free market at the position. Ramos posted a .306/.358/.487 line in 2018 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs in 416 plate appearances. The Mets were reported to be working hard to acquire Realmuto, but the Marlins’ asking price continued to be too high for their liking so they moved on to free agent options. It is also worth mentioning that it sounds like the Mets did check in on Grandal before they signed Ramos.
Source: #Mets met with Grandal last week. Did not want to meet price and lose 2nd-highest draft pick plus $500K in int’l signing bonus pool money. Also did not want to give up Rosario, Conforto or Nimmo to #Marlins in trade for Realmuto. Now figure to go with Ramos/d’Arnaud at C.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2018
Understandably, while the Mets seemed to like Grandal, the cost not only in dollars but also in terms of amateur resources (draft pick, draft and IFA pool money, etc.) was just too much for the team to fork over for Yasmani’s services.
This is where things get interesting because some of the teams that were bidding the hardest for Realmuto to start (Mets, Nationals) seem to have solidified their positions and others (Reds, Padres) do not seem like they are at the point where they can start contending yet. With Grandal existing out there as an option as well, it will be fascinating to see how the catching market unfolds in the next several weeks.