Mets made Noah Syndergaard happy by re-signing Rene Rivera
The Mets made Noah Syndergaard happy when they re-signed Rene Rivera.
We all want a happy (and dominant) Thor so obviously this is a good thing to hear. During an interview with WOR’s Pete McCarthy, Syndergaard stated the following:
“That’s huge, because he really helped me last year with his veteran leadership and the amount of knowledge that he has.”
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Obviously there has to be a great dynamic between a pitcher and a catcher. As fans, we want to know that our pitcher is comfortable with whoever is behind the plate. We want to hear that our catcher is working with our pitcher, trying to make him better, and that’s what Rivera is doing for Syndergaard. And from the sounds of it, he’s doing this both on and off the field.
We all know Syndergaard has a bit of trouble when it comes to holding baserunners, and Rivera provides some reassurance for this with his cannon of an arm. Rivera pretty much became Syndergaard’s personal catcher this past season for this very reason. The two work well together, and it’s good to see Syndergaard acknowledging that.
The comfort Syndergaard has with Rivera is also reflected in the stats.
Syndergaard made 31 starts last season, with Rivera catching 23 of them. In those starts, Syndergaard’s ERA was 2.50. With Travis d’Arnaud (who caught him four times) it was 3.57. With Kevin Plawecki (who also caught him four times) it was 2.18.
The Mets recently avoided arbitration with Rivera, settling on a new deal for next season worth $1.75 million. It’s a good thing they did, as we know the organization is not planning on acquiring a new catcher — one of their weak spots — and instead want to work with the current catchers.
This past season, Rivera showed that despite not being one of the bigger bats on the team, he can call a good game and has a great arm.
It’s an extremely safe bet to say Rivera will be catching Syndergaard again in the 2017 season, which is a good thing. Rivera can continue to work with him and hopefully make him dominant in all aspects of the game — including the stolen base issue.
