The New York Mets may be trying to win the winter with a splashy back-page headline deal, but the Washington Nationals made a much smaller trade Friday that improved their major league roster at a fairly minimal cost.
The Nationals get an above-average regular behind the plate in Yan Gomes, who makes up for chronic low OBPs with some power, above-average framing and good results against the running game. Washington's catchers hit an aggregate .214/.304/.320 last year, and that's with the benefit of eight intentional walks, while their primary catcher, Matt Wieters, has consistently graded out as one of the game's worst pitch framers.