Mets hope Santos or Thole can handle catcher job
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Count Omir Santos among the crowd that wondered what happened between the Mets and Bengie Molina. Not that Santos was closely monitoring the situation. He admitted Tuesday that he doesn't spend much time on the Internet during the offseason. But plenty of people approached him in Puerto Rico with the same question.
"They asked me, 'Hey, what happened to you? They're trying to get Molina,' " Santos said. "I told them I didn't know. It's not in my hands. I wasn't worried because I know what I can do."
The Mets have an idea of what Santos can do, as well as Josh Thole, which is why it appears they are content to let the two battle in spring training for the starting catcher's job. Omar Minaya has a veteran presence on the roster in Henry Blanco - a personal favorite of fellow Venezuelan Johan Santana - but the Mets would like to see if either Santos, 28, or Thole has improved enough defensively to keep their bats in the lineup.
Santos said that his biggest weakness was a lack of knowledge of hitters and he promises to study much more video in the next six weeks. "It's not like I've been in the league for years," said Santos, played 11 games for the Orioles in 2008 before his 96 with the Mets.
Thole, 23, batted .321 (17-for-53) in 17 games after his call-up from Double-A Binghamton and the Mets could keep him on the fast track. He worked with his own "catching coach" on his winter league team in Venezuela. When asked about competing for the job, Thole believes he's ready.
"The biggest thing is to stay on my routine every day," Thole said. "What I've done from 2008 to right now, I'm not going to change it. There are some things I need to tighten up, but it's more about my mind-set than anything else."
