PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — By dropping to a knee, Wilson Ramos is proposing a solution to his issues with the Mets’ pitching staff last season.



In his first season in New York, Ramos struggled at times to mesh with pitchers, most notably Noah Syndergaard. Much of that discord derived not from any personality issues but from Ramos’ difficulty framing pitchers at the bottom of and just beneath the strike zone — where Syndergaard, among others, operates at his best.



Last season, Ramos was the sport’s worst framer on pitches in “the shadow zone” at the bottom of the strike zone — those 50/50 pitches right at knee-level. According to Baseball Savant, Ramos turned those pitches into strikes at a level far below the league average.



Among the 64 catchers behind the plate for enough pitches to qualify, Ramos ranked 61st on gloveside pitches down, 62nd on armside pitches down, and 64th on pitches in the middle...