24-year old lefty swinging Josh Thole will likely be platooning with 29-year old righty swinging Ronny Paulino behind the plate this year. Thole played in 73 games for the Mets as a rookie last season and he was 56 of 202 (.277 avg, .723 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He likely will hit between .280 and .300 this year as he has good plate discipline as he walked 24 times while whiffing only 25 times last year. Thole likely won’t hit for much power though. Thole made 3 errors and he had 4 passed balls in 61 games behind the plate for the Mets last season. He threw out 8 of 25 (32%) runners trying to steal against him last season and Mets’ pitchers liked to throw to him as they had a 3.56 ERA with him behind the plate. Being the lefty swinger of a platoon will get Thole the bulk of the P.T. in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging Ronny Paulino will miss the start of the season as he is still serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs. When he is back from his suspension, he will start against lefty pitching for the Mets. Paulino played in 91 games for the Marlins last season and he was 82 of 316 (.259 avg, .665 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers, 37 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Paulino had 6 errors and 6 passed balls in 85 games for the Marlins last season. He also threw out 21 of 77 (27.3%) runners trying to steal against him last season and Marlins’ pitchers had a 4.02 ERA with him behind the plate. Paulino is a underrated player who should do pretty well for the Mets in 2011.

37-year old righty swinging Raul Chavez will battle 26-year old righty swinging Dusty Ryan for the right to share time with Josh Thole until Paulino’s suspension is over. Chavez played in 55 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 42 of 200 (.210 avg, .580 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. Chavez has played in 263 games in majors in 11 years and he has a career average of .231 with a .570 OPS, so he’s not much of a hitter. Chavez made 4 errors and had 2 passed balls in 43 games in the minors last season but he has the reputation of being a solid defensive catcher.

26-year old righty swinging Dusty Ryan played in 89 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 52 of 261 (.199 avg, .682 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers, 30 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has played in 27 games in his major league career and he has a career average of .257 with a .723 OPS. Ryan isn’t much of a hitter and he’s not too good of a defensive catcher either. He had 7 errors and 6 passed balls in only 68 games in the minors last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE METS CATCHERS IN 2011: B-

The Mets have signed 29-year old righty reliever Blaine Boyer to a minor league deal. Boyer pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Boyer has now pitched in 228 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 9-12 with 1 save, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Mets will give Boyer a shot to win a job in the pen this spring. The Mets continue to make minor moves to tighten up the team and this was another solid one.

The Mets have signed 37-year old lefty reliever Tim Byrdak to a minor league deal. Byrdak pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Byrdak has now pitched in 343 games (0 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 9-10 with 3 saves, a 4.35 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Byrdak will get a chance to compete for a bullpen spot this spring.

The Mets have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Scott Hairston to a 1-year, $1.1 million dollar deal. Hairston played in 104 games for the Padres last season and he was 62 of 295 (.210 avg, .640 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers, 36 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 564 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 413 of 1,688 (.245 avg, .737 OPS) with 204 runs scored, 68 homers, 198 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. I really like this signing for the Mets as Hairston will serve as the #4 outfielder in 2011. Hairston will provide a lot of power off the bench and he would have little problem starting for the Mets if the need arises in 2011.

The Mets have designated 26-year old righty reliever/starter Tobi Stoner for assignment. Stoner pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He also pitched in 23 games (22 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 6-10 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Stoner gave up 158 hits in only 120 2/3 innings in the minors last season so he wasn’t missing many bats last year. Stoner pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in parts of two years for the Mets and he was 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Mets probably wouldn’t mind keeping Stoner if he clears waivers.