One pipe dream to solve the Mets’ catching injuries is officially back from an injury himself, making an entrance in The Bronx loud enough to hear from Citi Field.
The Marlins activated J.T. Realmuto from the disabled list Tuesday in time to make his season debut against the Yankees and smash a three-run, opposite-field home run in a 9-1 win at Yankee Stadium.
Realmuto, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, had been rehabbing from a lower-back contusion suffered in spring training when he collided with Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres as Gary Sanchez picked Realmuto off second base. He said it was a fluke injury that resulted in his first trip to the DL as a major leaguer.
As the Mets lost catchers Travis d’Arnaud (partially torn UCL) and Kevin Plawecki (fractured hand) to injuries of different severity within a matter of days last week, Realmuto was one of the first names to be mentioned as a possible replacement. The 27-year-old catcher has hit .280 with 38 home runs across four seasons in Miami.
The Mets have spoken to the rebuilding Marlins about Realmuto, according to The Post’s Mike Puma, even if it would take a haul to land him.
“I haven’t been paying any attention to that,” Realmuto said Tuesday. “I’m here to play baseball.”
Realmuto’s camp made it no secret during the offseason, after the Marlins traded away Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, that he wished to be moved as well.
“He would like to be traded to another organization before spring training so he has an opportunity to compete for a championship,” Jeff Berry, Realmuto’s agent, told the Miami Herald in February.
Asked on Tuesday if he had changed his stance since then, Realmuto said again, “Just here to play baseball, man.”
After the way the offseason played out, with Derek Jeter coming in as minority owner and CEO to lead the teardown and rebuild of the franchise, Realmuto said he put that behind him once he reported to camp.
“That stuff was all over once spring training started,” he said. “Regardless of how the offseason went, I would have been extremely ecstatic to get back in any situation. When this happens, you just want to get back on the field and help the guys.”
Realmuto gave himself a clean bill of health. He said he wanted to get back faster, but appreciated the team took his rehab patiently to make sure he was completely healed by the time he returned.
Now, he joins a Marlins team that is now 5-12 with a handful of players learning on the fly. How long he’s with them remains to be seen.
