Ronny Paulino Up, Mike Nickeas Down
According to the Mets PR Department, Ronny Paulino has been promoted from AAA Buffalo and activated from the disabled list. Paulino is available to play in tonight’s ballgame against the Phillies. He will wear uniform #9.
To make room on the roster for Paulino, catcher Mike Nickeas has been demoted to Buffalo.
I’m kind of sad to see Nickeas go down. I know Joe didn’t love his form behind the plate but he seemed to do a great job of working with the pitchers and calling games. One has to wonder, for example, if Chris Capuano might have pitched better last night if Nickeas was catching instead of Josh Thole.
Toward that same end, it’s going to take Paulino a while to build a rapport with the Mets pitching staff. I’m sure Joe will comment on that in more detail in a future post. Otherwise, I’m anxious to see what Paulino can do with the bat against lefties.
I also think we need a veteran catcher. But nickeas seems to have made himself a face among pitchers. The catchers era looks pretty unequal I bet.
Alderson has already stated there is no trade market right now. But would thole be part of a package?
Regardless of record I see this team being largely dismantled. It will be interesting to see how alderson evaluates the major and minor league talent.