I feel like Ronny Paulino has been “close” to signing with the Mets like 15 times before. Paulino has a rep as a solid defensive catcher and fared well in Beyond the Boxscore’s catcher-defense rankings. He is not a great hitter, though his career .273/.328/.383 line is pretty similar to the 2010 National League average for catchers — .253/.326/.388.

Perhaps most importantly, the righty-hitting Paulino has, for his career, a marked platoon split. He’s got a measly .635 OPS against righties but an .881 mark against lefties, essentially the Matt Diaz of catchers. Assuming he doesn’t cost multiple years or numerous millions, he would be a great choice to spell Josh Thole against tough southpaws, or even in a straight platoon — since catchers need time off anyway. Combined, they’d give the Mets excellent offense from behind the plate.

– Me, here, yesterday.

It turns out Paulino cost $1.3 million for one season, which seems a reasonable investment. Based on a quick survey of Cot’s, that seems around the going rate for free-agent backup catchers — Brian Schneider got about $2.8 million over two seasons last winter from the Phils, Miguel Olivo signed with the Rockies for $2 million for one season to back up Chris Iannetta (which didn’t end up happening).

Paulino gives the Mets essentially exactly what I hoped they’d find: a right-handed hitting backup and contingency plan for Josh Thole who is young and healthy enough to hold up for the long haul. There are questions about his work ethic and he’ll start the season on the last eight games of a 50-game suspension for PED use, but if it weren’t for all that he’d probably cost more.

Assuming he’s enjoying a happy, healthy and drug-free campaign in New York, Paulino will provide the Mets a good righty bat for tough lefties and a defensively solid backup catcher. And considering that Rod Barajas somehow got $3.25 million and Paulino is younger and probably better, it seems like a good deal for the Mets.