NEW YORK — The Mets on Thursday added another catcher to an already crowded backstop mix, agreeing to terms with veteran Omar Narváez on a one-year contract with a player option for 2024, according to a source. He’ll make $8 million in 2023 and has a player option worth $7 million for 2024, meaning the deal could be worth up to $15 million if he ends up exercising that option.
Narváez joins a catching crew that already includes veterans James McCann and Tomás Nido, as well as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, Francisco Álvarez. Should the Mets keep all three on their roster, it would indicate strongly that Álvarez is set to begin next season back at Triple-A Syracuse, where he spent much of last summer. But the move also opens the door for the Mets to trade McCann, who has underperformed since joining New York and is due $24.3 million over the next two seasons.
Reached late Thursday night, a Mets official indicated that the club has enough flexibility to carry three catchers on the Opening Day roster, especially since Narváez — unlike McCann and Nido — bats left-handed. But the official acknowledged that the final two months of this offseason could still change the equation.
If nothing else, the Mets hope they have upgraded their offense with the addition of Narváez, a 30-year-old Venezuelan who produced a career year with 22 home runs and an .813 OPS for the Mariners in 2019. Narváez has alternated good and bad seasons since that time, homering just four times with a .597 OPS for the Brewers last summer. But he is a career .268/.345/.406 hitter against right-handers, making him a more natural platoon-mate for either McCann or Nido.
It’s also possible the Mets carry Álvarez as their primary designated hitter, but they are more likely to send him for additional defensive seasoning given his importance to their future. Álvarez, who earned a promotion down the stretch and made the Mets’ playoff roster, is considered MLB-ready offensively but raw behind the plate.
The Narváez signing continues what has been a hyperactive offseason for Mets general manager Billy Eppler, who has already agreed to free-agent deals for Edwin Díaz, Justin Verlander, José Quintana, Brandon Nimmo, David Robertson and Kodai Senga, in addition to a trade for Brooks Raley.