Tomas Nido’s time with the Mets officially came to an end earlier this week after he signed a major-league deal with the Cubs following his release from the team.
With Omar Narvaez designated for assignment and young starter Francisco Alvarez residing on the injured list following thumb surgery, Nido appeared to be playing his way into New York’s backup spot for the remainder of the season.
However, veteran Luis Torrens was acquired in a deal with the Yankees and he got off to a roaring start, hitting three homers and throwing out a pair of base runners in his first series with the team, ultimately stealing the job from Nido and bringing his Mets tenure to an end.
“I wasn’t surprised, these things happen,” Nido said Friday. “You sign a guy or trade for a guy and he brings value. Torrens is a great guy and he did the best anyone could do for those first couple of days. Credit to him for having an unbelievable couple of weeks, it all worked out.”
Nido spent the first eight years of his career with the Mets after being selected right out of high school in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
While he was never quite able to carry things over offensively to the big-league level, he showed tremendous defensive abilities behind the plate and served as a steady and reliable backup option over the years.
“I loved my time there,” he said. “New York is one of the best places to win in, and when it’s not going so great, probably not. But I loved it there, I had some great memories, made a lot of great friends, and I really enjoyed it.”
And in an interesting twist, it won’t be long before Nido sees his former teammates for the first time as an opponent, as the Mets are set to go to battle with the Cubs this weekend in a three-game set.
While the 30-year-old isn’t in the starting lineup for Friday afternoon’s opener at Wrigley Field, he’s looking forward to the opportunity to potentially get out there at some point during the big series.
“It’s exciting,” Nido said. “I haven’t had too much time to really think about it in terms of really preparing and everything that’s been thrown at me, but I’m excited to go out there and compete against those guys. I’ve known them for a long time, so I think it’s going to be fun.”
Source Agencies
