The New York Mets have traded catcher Tyler Heineman to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations. The Mets initially acquired Heineman via waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in December. However, the 33-year-old lost his roster spot when New York signed reliever Adam Ottavino.
The Mets had Francisco Alvarez, Omar Narvaez, and Tomas Nido ahead of Heineman on the catching depth chart. His roster spot never seemed solid, though the team surely hoped he would clear waivers and remain in the organization. The team could still trade Narvaez, but David Stearns might want to hold on to some catching depth at this point.
We’ve acquired cash considerations from Boston in exchange for catcher Tyler Heineman.
— New York Mets (@Mets) February 2, 2024
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Red Sox Acquire Tyler Heineman
Heineman made his debut with the Miami Marlins in 2019 but has bounced around quite a bit. In parts of four major league seasons, Heineman has appeared in just 104 games for four different teams. He often acts as a depth piece teams acquire when they face sudden catching depth issues.
To his credit, teams like Heineman because of his solid defense (5 career Defensive Runs Saved) and potential to control the zone offensively. In 37 plate appearances with the Blue Jays last season, the switch hitter produced a .276/.432/.379 slashline (129 OPS+) with seven walks and seven strikeouts. It marks his best offensive performance of his career (albeit a very small sample size).
Red Sox have acquired catcher Tyler Heineman from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations.
Had the quickest average exchange time (0.63 seconds) in baseball last year. Posted a 98 OPS+ in 22 games in 2023.
Max Castillo was DFA’d to open up a spot.pic.twitter.com/0KKmJ6fP2m
— Tyler Milliken
(@tylermilliken_) February 2, 2024
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Heineman’s offensive abilities can be seen via his decent minor league performance. In 1,328 plate appearances, the veteran hit .276/.350/.402, walked at a 9.3 percent clip and punched 15.1 percent of the time. While he lacks power (just 23 homers), a catcher who provides good defense and solid on-base skills holds value in today’s game.
Connor Wong and Reese McGuire will see most of the playing time behind the plate in Boston. Heineman has one option remaining, meaning the Red Sox can stash him at Triple-A and call him up if needed. To make room on the roster, Boston designated pitcher Max Castillo for assignment.
Photo Credit: © Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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