Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes there is a good chance the Mets go in to Spring Training with Omir Santos as their starting catcher.
In a post to his blog, Olney quotes one American League talent evaluator who feels Santos is a ‘capable back-up,’ not a starter, who has average arm strength and average receiving ability, and who can hit around .250 with just under 10 home runs.
The second AL Talent evaluator told Olney:
“I think Santos is more like an up/down guy for a good club… Santos is decent emergency protection at AAA for a good club and a backup catcher for a club that isn’t going to contend. He can run into a fastball, but the more action he sees, the more that his aggressive approach at the plate is likely to be exposed at the big league level.”
In the end, the second talent evaluator wonders, “You’d think they’d be more than willing to give Josh Thole a shot to see regular at-bats, as at least he has some upside.”
In a poll to MetsBlog.com last week, 45 percent of voters said they would prefer to see a combination of Blanco and free-agent C Rod Barajas, while 36 percent chose a Blanco-Santos platoon, and just 19 percent preferring Blanco be teamed up with Thole.
source: MetsBlog.com
