Going into the 2016 season, it was hard to imagine journeyman catcher Rene Rivera being a part of the New York Mets’ backstop contingent. Rivera was signed to a minor league deal in early April and wound up playing 65 games.
Travis d’Arnaud suffered through another injury plagued season and took a step back in his development. Kevin Plawecki was thought to be the guy who would take over for d’Arnaud, but he spent half the season in the minors. That left the 33-year old Rivera to handle the Mets’ pitching staff, and all things considered he did a solid job.