Wilson Ramos expects to be the Mets starting catcher next year — including when Noah Syndergaard is on the mound.
Ramos said he was pleased when general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said last week at the GM meetings that the 32-year-old was “our guy” as catcher.
“I was happy with what he said,’’ Ramos said Thursday. “It gives me more confidence to keep working hard and come back in spring strong and in better shape.”
“We have a starting catcher in Wilson Ramos that we were pleased with his performance, particularly in the second half of the year last year,” Van Wagenen said last week. “Our starting pitchers got very comfortable throwing to him in the second half of the year and we feel like there are very few catchers who can be improvements on who we have, so we like who we have and expect to go into the season with Wilson Ramos as our guy.”
Ramos had a rocky first season with the Mets, with many questions surrounding his defense.
Given those struggles, there’s been thought the Mets could go after another high-profile catcher.
Yasmani Grandal, a Mets target last offseason, signed with the White Sox on Thursday, although the Mets didn’t pursue him seriously this time around.
The Post’s Ken Davidoff reported last week the Mets expressed interest in Robinson Chirinos, following his strong season with the Astros. And Drew Butera is another option as a backup after the Mets used Rene Rivera and Tomas Nido in 2019.
The Mets could look to shop Ramos, but he is due $10.25 million in 2020.
His defense became an issue, as Syndergaard wanted Rivera and Nido catching him later in the year.
“It’s gonna be good,’’ Ramos said of working with Syndergaard. “We finished the season talking a little bit more. We had better communication at the end of the season and that will help us get better for next year. I know at the beginning of the season, it was tough for us.’’
Ramos said when he picks up his offseason work program, he’ll concentrate on defense — including receiving and framing pitches.
“I heard a lot of bad things about me this year behind the plate, but I’m going to focus on getting better,’’ said Ramos, who spent Thursday helping the Mets hand out turkeys to families throughout the city as part of the team’s Metsgiving program.
“I learn from the bad things,’’ Ramos said. “I take those comments to help me to get better. I don’t feel bad at all [about them]. It will motivate me to keep working hard.”
He’s also talked to new manager Carlos Beltran since Beltran took the job and is excited to get a chance to play for the former Met.
But it was clearly the words of Van Wagenen that have meant the most to Ramos this offseason — to the point Ramos said he’s not concerned with whom the Mets might bring in to play alongside him.
“I don’t pay attention to it,’’ Ramos said. “If Brodie said I will be the catcher next year, I trust him.”
The Mets signed left-hander Chasen Shreve to a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training. The 29-year-old spent most of last season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate following his 2018 trade from the Yankees that brought Luke Voit to The Bronx.