The Mets are in agreement to sign free agent catcher Wilson Ramos, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal is for two years and $19.5 million and there is an option for a third year, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Ramos, 31, was an All-Star last season, his second time earning the honor. He spent time with both the Rays and Phillies, hitting .306/.358/.487 (130 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 15 homers and 70 RBI. Now that his ACL injury is well in the rearview mirror, he's back to being one of the better catchers in baseball.
Ramos immediately becomes the Mets number one catcher with either Kevin Plawecki or Travis d'Arnaud (who is coming off Tommy John surgery) serving as the backup.
Barring something unforeseen and amazingly aggressive, this takes the Mets out of the J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes and definitely shuts down the proposed three-team deal which had Noah Syndergaard going to the Yankees.
New general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has been very active in his first offseason with the Mets. Some thought the team needed to rebuild, instead he's added the likes of Ramos, Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia while removing some players who weren't quite working out in Queens.
With Ramos (who was No. 13 in our Free Agent Tracker) off the board, Yasmani Grandal is the obvious best free agent catcher remaining. After that, you're looking at Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado.
