The Newark Star-Ledger reported today that Josh Thole will compete with Omir Santos to be the Mets’ starting catcher. Omar Minaya:
“I think Thole is going to compete for a job in spring training. We’ll see how he plays coming off a very good year. He led the league in hitting in Venezuela (winter ball). With Thole, where is he? Do we rush him? Does he take the job?”
You’ll recall a few weeks ago that Jerry Manuel had said that Santos would be his preferred number one. Hopefully Minaya’s comments here control the situation and, rather than handing the sure-to-be-godawful Santos, Thole is given a chance. Thole is younger, for one thing. And unlike Santos -- who has a career .258/.304/.348 line in many, many minor league seasons -- Thole has shown some on-base skills in the minors.