The Mets’ catching situation got more crowded and expensive on Thursday night. 

Omar Narvaez, an All-Star catcher in 2021, agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Mets that includes a $7 million player option for 2024, The Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman confirmed. 

Narvaez, one of the game’s top pitch framers and a left-handed bat, added to Steve Cohen’s spending spree but also elicited questions about the Mets’ plans behind the plate for next season, possibly with another shoe to drop. 

The soon-to-be 31-year-old Narvaez joins James McCann and Tomas Nido as Mets catchers under contract, along with the club’s top prospect, 21-year-old Francisco Alvarez, who is expected to push for playing time in 2023 after making his MLB debut late last season. The Mets could carry three catchers but might also look to off-load one in a trade, depending on how the market plays out. 

Even before Narvaez’s arrival, McCann figured to be a possible trade candidate. The 32-year-old, who has been hailed for his work with the Mets’ pitching staff, has had two rough seasons offensively since signing a four-year, $40.6 million contract, which has two years and $24 million remaining. 

Nido is another defense-first catcher who caught Max Scherzer in 16 of his 23 starts last season and started a career-high 86 games overall. The 28-year-old is projected to make $1.6 million (per MLB Trade Rumors) in his second year of arbitration in 2023. 

Alvarez, meanwhile, is known for his big bat — he hit 27 home runs with an .885 OPS across 112 games last season split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse before being called up on Sept. 30. But while he has made defensive strides in the minor leagues, it remains to be seen when the Mets might entrust him to handle a major league pitching staff — especially one that will be led by Scherzer and Justin Verlander. 

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It is possible Alvarez could also earn at-bats as a designated hitter, the role he had with the Mets during his brief stint to end the season. First, though, he will have to show he is healthy after undergoing right ankle surgery in October. The procedure was set to sideline him from baseball activities for six weeks, but Alvarez is expected to fully participate in spring training. 

As for Narvaez, a Venezuela native like Alvarez, he is coming off a down year in 2022 after being an All-Star with the Brewers in 2021, when he hit .266 with a .743 OPS across 123 games. Last season, though, Narvaez hit just .206 with a .597 OPS across 84 games with Milwaukee. 

In parts of seven seasons as a major leaguer — which also includes time with the White Sox and Mariners — Narvaez is a .258 hitter with a 100 (league average) OPS-plus. 

But Narvaez has elevated his defense in recent years. In 2022, he ranked seventh among all catchers with six Catcher Framing Runs, per Baseball Savant. In 2021, he led all catchers with 10 Catcher Framing Runs. 

The deal is just the latest move for the Mets, who have been one of the most active teams in free agency this offseason. Cohen and GM Billy Eppler have now signed seven free agents — Edwin Diaz, Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, Brandon Nimmo, David Robertson, Kodai Senga and Narvaez — to deals worth a combined $476.7 million in total value. 

Eppler had acknowledged on Wednesday that the “heavy lifting” of the Mets’ offseason was complete, but that they would remain “opportunistic.” Narvaez apparently fit into that category as the Mets seek to improve on a 101-win team that had a first-round playoff exit in 2022.