CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Mets’ search for improvement at catcher likely will lead to at least a discussion with the Marlins this week about an All-Star, as new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen attempts to create a splash in his first offseason with the club.
J.T. Realmuto, who has indicated through his agent a desire to depart South Florida as the Marlins rebuild, was coveted by the Mets last winter and remains on the list of targets for this new regime, an industry source said Tuesday at the general managers’ meetings.
Realmuto is an attractive option for many teams, but the Marlins also are under no pressure to trade him, given that he can’t become a free agent until after the 2020 season. The biggest issue from the Mets’ perspective might be whether they have the prospects needed to seriously pursue such a trade.
A source indicated the Marlins last winter sought high-end starting pitching that was close to major league ready in return for Realmuto. The Mets lacked such prospects and are in a similar position this offseason. But the Mets also could look to trade a controllable young outfielder, such as Brandon Nimmo or Michael Conforto, in such a deal.
Realmuto is represented by CAA — Van Wagenen’s agency until last week, when he departed to become Mets GM.
“Not to address [Realmuto] specifically, because I think he is an attractive player to the Marlins first and foremost and I am sure he would be attractive to every other club out there,” Van Wagenen said. “But that type of impact player offensively and defensively, we’ll be looking to explore all avenues to acquire those types of players, either in free agency or in trade.”
The Mets have catchers Kevin Plawecki, Travis d’Arnaud and Tomas Nido under club control for next season, but ideally would add a starting catcher and then trade from their surplus. The free agents available at the position include Wilson Ramos, Yasmani Grandal, Martin Maldonado and Jonathan Lucroy.
D’Arnaud is arbitration-eligible after earning $3.475 million last season, when he played only four games before undergoing Tommy John surgery. It’s possible the Mets could tender a contract to d’Arnaud and then look to trade him. Van Wagenen said the expectation is d’Arnaud will be ready to begin the season.
“We’ve got three catchers on the roster and I think all three can be major league contributors,” Van Wagenen said. “I think it’s a position that like everywhere on our roster we look to see if there’s areas of improvement, but I think there has been a fair amount of interest in our catchers from other teams looking for those players as well.”
Realmuto, 27, posted a .277/.340/.484 slash line for the Marlins last season and was selected to the NL All-Star team. He is also highly regarded for his handling of Miami’s young pitchers.As much as Plawecki has improved behind the plate, there is room for further improvement. Nido impressed club officials defensively, but he was overmatched at the plate.
“We’ve got a great starting pitching staff and I think that the better we can make our defense — not just behind the plate, but also behind the pitchers — is something we are going to want to make sure we have shored up,” Van Wagnen said.