For the first time in 328 days, Tomas Nido squatted behind home plate and stepped up to bat for a game in Queens.
“It’s been a long time,” Nido said before play Friday. “Feels like it.”
The time away made Nido appreciate this opportunity more. Perhaps it also did some good for his bat.
Nido, playing in his first game at Citi Field since June 3, welcomed himself back with a home run and double in the Mets’ 4-2 loss to the Cardinals.
The longtime Met came through with his fourth career game with multiple extra-base hits, and his homer — a fifth-inning shot to right-center — was his first since Sept. 30, 2022.
The big day was well-timed after a long time away from Flushing.
Back in early June of last year, Nido had watched Francisco Alvarez establish himself in the majors and as veteran Omar Narvaez made his way back from a calf strain.
Nido could see the writing on the wall.
“I understood the situation,” Nido said. “You have a superstar in Alvarez, and you have Narvy backing up. I figured I was the odd man out.”
And he figured his time with the Mets and Citi Field was “absolutely” finished, he said.
Nido, an eighth-round pick in 2012 of the Mets, debuted in 2017 and only had known major league life in Queens, where he became well-regarded defensively as a light-hitting backup.
The quick rise of Alvarez and the free-agent addition of Narvaez pushed out Nido, who was designated for assignment but cleared waivers, perhaps because of the two-year, $3.7 million contract he signed before the start of last season.
Nido then reported to Triple-A Syracuse, where he finished last season and began this season.
Alvarez’s thumb surgery has given Nido another chance with the Mets in the majors nearly 11 months after he believed his tenure was over. Nido called Friday’s game, his return to Queens, “special.”
“For whatever reason, things worked out how they did, and I’m still here,” Nido said. “It really made me grateful. … It made me really not take for granted the time up here.”
