Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was “livid” when he had to throw to catcher Wilson Ramos and confronted the Mets’ front office about it, Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post report.
It’s apparently been an ongoing thing and the numbers shake out: Syndergaard has a 5.09 ERA in 92 innings with Ramos behind the dish compared to a 2.45 ERA in 66 innings with Tomás Nido catching him. Syndergaard also made his first start with Rene Rivera catching him this year, tossing seven shutout innings against the Nationals last Monday.
Per Sherman and Kernan, the Mets’ front office thinks the pitcher-catcher dynamic is, in their words, “overstated,” and generally want to avoid pitchers having personal catchers. Syndergaard, however, feels that Nido calls a better game, controls the running game better, and is better at framing low pitches.
Ramos recently had a 26-game hitting streak snapped. Overall, he’s batting a productive .298/.360/.434 with 14 home runs and 71 RBI in 470 plate appearances. It is understandable why the Mets wouldn’t want to willingly take his bat out of the lineup, but if it’s making Syndergaard unhappy and perform poorly, it may be worth satiating their star hurler.
This, however, may be the latest in a tumultuous relationship due to end soon. The Mets were reportedly willing to deal Syndergaard in July before pulling him off the market just days ahead of the trade deadline. He has two more years of salary arbitration remaining, which will see him earn significant raises on his current $6 million salary. The Mets very well may make Syndergaard available via trade again during the offseason.