Tomas Nido: Long Time Mets Catcher (2017 - 2023)

Tomas E. Nido Vicens was born April 12th, 1994, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. The young Tomas was born into a very athletic family. 

Parents: His mother Liana Vicens competed in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, as a swimmer at the age of eleven. His father Tomas Sr. won a tennis medal in the 1982 Central American & Caribbean Games.

Tomas' grandfather was a Puerto Rican National basketball Player. Another relative included a great Uncle, Juan Vincens, was once dubbed "The Best Player in the World" in the 1959 FIBA Championships.

Quotes- Tomas Nido: "We are a very athletic family. It sticks out about my mom, she was very young, so the work ethic from a young age is something to be really proud of & has definitely helped me". 

Tomas grew up in Seminole County Florida & was to play baseball for the Florida State Seminoles. 

Instead, the New York Mets selected him as an 8th round pick in 2012 & he we went to A ball with the Kingsport Mets. Tomas then spent two seasons with the Brooklyn Cyclones (2013-2014) before climbing up the minor league ladder.

In 2016 he won a batting title with the St. Lucie Mets. The next year he moved up to AA Binghamton & played in the Futures Game. 

It was that year he got a big-league September call up. 

Nido is rated as a fine defensive catcher who easily makes pitches look like strikes for pitchers.

Mets Career: Nido made his MLB debut on September 13th, 2017, as a 9th inning defensive replacement in a 17-5 Mets loss to the Chicago Cubs. The next night he got his first career hit, coming in as a pinch hitter. He would make another late inning appearances, collecting another hit that game as well. He closed out the season starting two games behind the plate.

2018: In 2018 he began the year at AA Binghamton, then was brought up on April 11th due to the ulnar collateral injury to Travis d'Arnaud. But he was only batting .159 at the end of May & was sent down to AAA Las Vegas.

He was brought back up in late August. On September 1st, Nido doubled in the 5th inning tying up the game at one, they went on to a 2-1 extra inning win. That week Nido reached base in five straight games collecting five RBIs. 

On September 13th he hit his first career HR, coming off the Marlins Jeff Brigham in a 5-2 win over the Marlins.

Nido got into 34 games throughout the season, batting .167 (14-84) with three RBIs. He threw out 5 of 20 base stealers (20%) making four errors for a .983 fielding %. 

2019: Nido would make the team out of Spring Training, as the team's backup catcher behind Wilson Ramos. He would have a great rapport behind the plate with Mets pitchers, especially Noah Syndergaard eventually being used almost exclusively as his private catcher. 

On April 28th, he had a pinch hit double, scoring two runs in a 5-2 Mets win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In May he hit two of his four HRs on the season, both coming in a six-game span. 

Walk Off HR: On May 25th, in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Citi Field, Nido came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 11th inning. He flew out & stayed in the game to catch. Nido came to bat in the bottom of the 13th facing Buck Farmer & hit a walk off HR to give the Mets a 5-4 win.

From May 25th to June 11th, he batted .304 reaching base safely in seven straight games. On July 6th, he cleared the bases with a three run double to center field off the Phils, Jake Arrieta. The runs proved to be the game winners in the 6-5 Mets win over the Phillies. 

In 2019 he batted .191 with 4 HRs 5 doubles & 14 RBIs in 50 games, 136 at bats. Nido's defense was good as usual, playing in 48 games posting a .992 fielding % making just three errors, although base runners stole 34 of 37 bases on him. The Mets finished third under manager Mickey Callaway who was let in the off season.

2020: In the Covid shortened 2020 season the Mets resigned Rene Rivera, giving Nido some competition in the backup role.

As the season finally began in late July, Nido got into his first game in the third game as he doubled & drew a walk. 

Grand Slam & Six RBI Game: On August 13th he had a monster day against the Washington Nationals. Nido hit a grand slam HR off Seth Romero, the first grand slam of his career.

In the 4th inning he hit a two-run shot off Austin Voth giving him a career high six RBIs in a game, leading the Mets to an 8-2 win.

Nido soon contracted the Covid19 coronavirus & missed the last month of the season. At the time he was batting .292.  He spent 18 days bed ridden but made a strong recovery to return in 2021. 

2021: As the Mets felt they upgraded the catcher spot, bringing on James McCann, they left the backup spot for Nido once again.

In his first start on April 13th, he hit a triple & scored a run in the Mets shut out of the Phillies. On May 5th, he hit his first HR, a two-run shot in a 7-1 Mets win in St. Louis. 

On May 18th, his 9th inning HR off the Braves Will Smith broke a 3-3 tie in Atlanta which proved to be the game winning hit.

 

Nido would drive in two more runs the next day with a 7th inning single that put the Mets ahead temporarily. They would lose the game on Ronald Acuna Jr.'s HR off Jacob Barnes.

That week Nido drove in eight runs over an eight-game period. He drove in eleven of his 13 RBIs in the month of May as he would only drive in two more runs thru the rest of the year.

Nido finished batting .222 with 3 HRs 5 doubles & 13 RBIs. Although he had spent four separate times on the IL he played in 58 games. Behind the plate he was outstanding, making just 5 errors in 443 chances, as he threw out 57% of would-be base stealers & posted a .989 fielding % in 52 games. 

Trivia: According to stat cast he was the best pitch framer in baseball. 

2022 Mets Wild Card Season: The Mets improved their team with offseason acquisitions, including new pitchers Max Scherzer & Chris Bassit.

The season began for Nido with him hitting safely in his first three games. He closed out the month driving in four runs. 

On May 10th, James McCann went down with injury for the first time of the year giving Nido more playing time. The Mets also brought up Patrick Mazeika as he backed up Nido but was gone in early August after batting just .191.

Four Hit- Three RBI Game: On June 1st in a game against the Nationals, Nido put the Mets on the board with a two-run single off Evan Lee. He was only credited with one RBI as an error on the play allowed Luis Guillorme to score. 

In the 8th inning his two run double off Jordan Weems drove in two runs in the Mets 5-0. On the day he collected the first four hit game of his career while collecting three RBIs.

On June 5th in a big series in Los Angeles, Nido singled in the Mets three run 8th inning bringing in Mark Canha in the Mets 5-4 win. 

The Mets took two of three in the series. Nido saw action in seven of the ten games on the West coast road trip with five hits while driving in three runs. He drove in seven runs on the month.

On July 9th Nido came to bat & doubled off Tanner Scott bringing in Mark Canha with the games
tying run. Brandon Nimmo reached on an error as Tanner Scott's went wild scoring Nido with the game winning run. In August he hit safely in six straight games while driving in three runs. 

On September 2nd, Nido had a multi-RBI game driving in two runs in a 7-3 win at Washington. A

Three RBI Game & First HR: On September 11th he hit his first HR of the year, a solo shot off the Marlins Tommy Nance. Nido also had a two run double in the 5th inning for his second three RBI game of the season.

In his next game he homered again, coming in a 6-3 loss to the Cubs. He drove in runs in four of five games in mid-September. 

In the final month as the Mets fought to remain in first place Nido batted .305 with 18 hits, three HRs (the only three he hit all season) & drove in nine runs.

Nido ended the year leading the NL with 12 sacrifice hits. He batted .239 with career highs in hits (68) doubles (15) RBIs (28) runs scored (31) & games played (98). 

Behind the plate he threw out 13 of 63 runners trying to steal (21%) while posting a .994 fielding % making five errors in 891 chances. He was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove Award at catcher as well.

NLWC Series: Nido played all three games of the NLWC series getting a hit in the Game 32 win. Overall, he was 1-8 in the series.

2023: In the off season the Mets gave him a new two-year deal. He was expected to be the backup catcher to Francisco Alvarez.

In Spring Training 2023 Nido hit three HRs & drove in five runs batting .378 thru March 24th.

Nido struggled at the plate, he was having trouble with his vision due to a dry eye syndrome which led to time on the DL as well. In 22 games he batted .125 with just one RBI. In early June he was designated for assignment, cleared waivers & was sent to AAA Syracuse.

In Spring Training 2024 he was a non-roster invitee & will start the year at AAA Syracuse.

In his seven-year career Nido has batted .213 with 159 hits 30 doubles one triple 13 HRs with 74 RBIs. He struck out 210 times walked 34 times with a .249 on base % & .557 OPS.

In 257 games behind the plate, he has a .991 fielding% making 20 errors in 2191 chances. He threw out 22% of would-be base stealers while turning 11 double plays.

Family: In November 2020, Tomas & his wife Danielle had a daughter.