Travis D'Arnaud

NL Notes: D-backs, Mets, Cards, A. Reyes

By Connor Byrne | February 2, 2018 at 9:57pm CDT

Thanks in part to the signing of catcher Alex Avila to a two-year, $8.25MM deal this week, the Diamondbacks are on track to run a franchise-record payroll in 2018 (upward of $120MM), as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes. They may not be done adding, either, as general manager Mike Hazen informed Piecoro that the Diamondbacks still have financial flexibility and are seeking another outfielder. “We’re still very much involved in both,” Hazen said of free agency and the trade market. “We have enough balls in the air, we could be a couple of yesses away from something getting done in any direction. We’re not close on anything just yet.” With A.J. Pollock being the only natural center fielder on the D-backs’ 40-man roster, they could pick up someone capable of handling that spot, Piecoro reports.

Mets Notes: Warthen, Collins, Catching

By Mark Polishuk | September 27, 2017 at 7:56am CDT

The latest from Citi Field…

The Mets are expected to part ways with long-time pitching coach Dan Warthen, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Warthen has been in his current role since June 2008 and had originally intended to retire after the season, though the Mets’ struggles caused Warthen to want one more year so as to go out on a higher note. Two internal candidates (bullpen coach Ricky Bones and minor league pitching coordinator Ron Romanick) are the top picks to replace Warthen, while Triple-A pitching coach Frank Viola is not under consideration and may not remain with the organization. Puma also listed former A’s pitching coach Curt Young and Red Sox director of pitching development Brian Bannister as external candidates who could receive consideration.
There has been wide speculation that Terry Collins won’t return as the Mets’ manager in 2018, though Collins tells The Record’s Matt Ehalt that he has no plans to retire. “I said it a couple years ago, I didn’t know how long I wanted to manage, what could be my last year — I never said anything that I was going to retire. I always wanted to work until I was 70. That’s two more years,” Collins said. While best known as a manager, Collins has worked in a wide variety of roles over his long career in baseball and said he is open to continuing in one of many jobs at the MLB or minor league level, though his preference is to remain with the Mets.
Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki have both been hitting well since the two catchers began to evenly split the playing time last month, leading MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo to speculate that the Mets could benefit by continuing this timeshare in 2018. D’Arnaud has long been plagued by injuries, so reducing his workload would help keep him healthier and theoretically more productive. The catch could be if Plawecki is able to keep up his respectable hitting numbers over the course of a full season, as the backstop has been unable to duplicate his good minor league numbers at the MLB level.

Mets Notes: Payroll, Catchers, Rotation, Conforto, Wright, Montero

By Steve Adams | September 6, 2017 at 9:13am CDT

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson met with the media yesterday to discuss a host of topics, ranging from next year’s payroll and roster to the health of several key players. Some highlights from his comments and a bit more on the Mets to kick off Wednesday morning…

Via Mike Puma of the New York Post, Alderson didn’t commit to matching 2017’s Opening Day payroll of roughly $155MM. As Puma notes, the Mets have will see more than $60MM come off the books with Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Addison Reed and Fernando Salas no longer on the roster (plus the potential buyout of Asdrubal Cabrera’s option). Per Alderson, though, the Mets’ payroll was “beyond” expected levels. “So I’m certainly not sitting here and saying, ‘OK, [the payroll] is going to be at least as high this year as it was last year,’” the GM stated, later adding that an “undetermined” portion of the money coming off the books will be reinvested into the on-field product.
One potential area of need, on paper anyhow, looks to be behind the plate. However, Alderson strongly suggested that Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are still in good standing with the organization and could be the primary catching tandem in 2018 (link via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News). Alderson indicated that d’Arnaud has improved in terms of some of the “esoteric metrics” that the Mets value, though he didn’t specify in what regards. The 28-year-old d’Arnaud has had a poor season at the plate (.232/.281/.397) and has thrown out just 17 percent of attempted base thieves while turning in slightly above-average framing marks. Perhaps more interesting, though, were his comments on Plawecki. “…I think Plawecki did himself a tremendous service going to (Triple-A) Las Vegas and applying himself and recognizing that he didn’t have to simply accept a backup role going forward as a major-league catcher and that he could work toward the possibility of being an everyday guy.” Plawecki slashed .328/.375/.514 in Las Vegas this year, albeit in a very hitter-friendly environment.
Via Newsday’s Marc Carig, Alderson also noted that the Mets may be in the market for a veteran starting pitcher to help stabilize the rotation in the wake of another injury-marred campaign for the club’s ballyhooed group of starters. A “Bartolo-type” of starter that can be relied upon for 180-plus innings would indeed seem a logical pursuit for the Mets, and the 2017-18 free agent market will have no shortage of options. Bartolo Colon himself will of course be available, as will innings eaters like John Lackey, Clayton Richard and Doug Fister, among many others.
Alderson revealed that Michael Conforto’s timeline for a recovery from surgery to repair the posterior capsule in his left shoulder is “roughly six months,” via the Post’s Greg Joyce. That’d put him on track to be ready for Spring Training, although the uncommon nature of his injury makes an exact timeline more difficult to nail down. The GM added that doctors have given no indication that there’s a risk of Conforto needing to alter his swing upon returning: “…[T]he fact that it’s his left shoulder, the fact that it’s his back shoulder when he swings, not his throwing shoulder, according to the doctors, is a positive.”
David Wright’s status moving forward is “uncertain at best,” Alderson stated, adding that the Mets will have to account for the lack of a definite hot corner option as they enter the offseason (via Carig). Wright, who required surgery to repair his right rotator cuff, is still owed $47MM through the end of the 2020 season. However, 75 percent of that sum is insured while Wright is on the disabled list, so the Mets will receive a sizable amount of compensation from 2018’s $20MM salary if the most recent surgery sidelines Wright for a lengthy period of time. Mike Moustakas will headline a fairly thin crop of free-agent third basemen, and A’s infielder Jed Lowrie figures to be one of several names available on the offseason trade market.
Right-hander Rafael Montero looks to be pitching his way into the team’s 2018 plans, writes Newsday’s Steven Marcus. Since returning from a demotion to Triple-A, he’s worked to a 4.44 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate in 77 innings. “We said we either see strikes or, you know,” said manager Terry Collins of the message given to Montero when he was last sent down to the minors. “He went down and threw strikes. And he’s come back and he’s done exactly the same thing. When you have good stuff and you throw it in the strike zone, you’re going to get outs.” Montero will be out of minor league options next season, so he’ll need to break camp with the team or else be exposed to waivers.

Mets Notes: Syndergaard, Harvey, Collins, Bruce, D’Arnaud

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2017 at 9:57pm CDT

Westeros is a long way from Citi Field, though that didn’t stop Noah Syndergaard from appearing in tonight’s episode of Game Of Thrones. The Mets right-hander was on set last November in Spain to work as an extra as part of a large battle scene. Without giving away spoilers, Syndergaard gets to show off his throwing motion in the form of tossing a spear, though he faces an even larger challenge than trying to get through the Nationals lineup.

Here’s some more news from ~~King’s Landing~~ Queens…

The futures of Terry Collins and Matt Harvey are examined by ESPN.com’s Buster Olney in his latest subscriber-only column. Collins’ contract is up at the end of the season, and the manager hinted last fall that he could potentially step away from the game due to the increasingly tough grind of the 162-game schedule. Olney opines that the seeming lack of any extension talks could be a sign that the two sides could be close to parting ways, and that Collins and the Mets should figure out “a graceful resolution” in a nod to Collins’ success with the club.
As for Harvey, it is widely expected around the game that the right-hander won’t return to the Mets after he becomes a free agent after the 2018 season. If this is the case, Olney wonders if the Mets should simply part ways with Harvey now if they don’t think he can be a solid contributor to next year’s team, whether due to continued health problems or off-the-field issues. Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that some teams have explored buy-low trade offers for Harvey, but the Mets aren’t interested. If the righty was shopped, it appears there would be some interest; Olney hears from agents and evaluators that Harvey would receive a deal in the neighborhood of $10MM with incentives if he were a free agent available on a one-year contract this offseason.
The Mets received “zero bites” on Jay Bruce prior to the trade deadline, a team official tells Newsday’s Marc Carig. Only a few teams called about the veteran slugger at all, and Carig notes that the lack of interest may have been due to multiple reasons apart from Bruce’s actual performance (such as teams putting more value on prospects than on rental players, a lack of contenders looking for corner outfield or first base help, or the fact that Bruce’s power bat is no longer quite as special due to the explosion of home runs around the league). As Carig notes, this could be a bad sign for Bruce as he hits free agency this offseason, which could potentially lead to the outfielder re-signing with the Mets, if probably not accepting a qualifying offer should the Mets extend one.
Also from Carig’s piece, he writes that Travis d’Arnaud is still part of the Mets’ future plans, as per a team source. The catcher has hit .240/.293/.421 with nine home runs over 239 PA this season and, perhaps most importantly, has stayed relatively healthy (apart from a few missed weeks in May due to a wrist bruise. D’Arnaud is under team control through the 2019 season, though his name did surface in trade talks last year as the Mets exploring upgrading behind the plate.

Mets Place Travis d’Arnaud On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | May 5, 2017 at 4:38pm CDT

The Mets have announced that catcher Travis d’Arnaud is going on the 10-day DL. His roster spot will go to righty Rafael Montero, who is stepping into the rotation at least temporarily.

While it had seemed d’Arnaud would avoid a DL stint for a wrist issue, it became a bigger problem after the injury was aggravated in a recent game. It’s unfortunate to see d’Arnaud go down yet again, though indications are that it won’t be a protracted absence. Manager Terry Collins told reporters including Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link) that the hope is d’Arnaud can ramp back up after only a week or so of rest.

NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Nationals

By Connor Byrne | April 8, 2017 at 10:20pm CDT

Ben Zobrist started the majority of the Cubs’ regular-season games at second base in 2016, but Javier Baez is now in the process of becoming the team’s everyday option at the keystone, writes Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. Baez started all 17 of the Cubs’ playoff games at second last fall and has opened 2017 by lining up there in four of five contests, which has pushed Zobrist into a super-utility role. Manager Joe Maddon isn’t ready to declare Baez the Cubs’ starter at second, largely because of “all the versatility” the team’s position players possess. However, he admitted that “pretty much what you’ve seen to this point, I think, is like a good indicator of what we’re going to be able to do with everybody being healthy.”

More on two other potential National League contenders:

Although Travis d’Arnaud is not among the 10 Mets who are scheduled to hit free agency after this season, this is nonetheless a crucial year for the catcher, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets will need to allocate a large portion of their offseason spending to positions other than catcher next winter, meaning they’d like to avoid having to upgrade behind the plate. The club eschewed free agent catchers this past winter in order to give d’Arnaud another chance to establish himself as a legitimate starter. That came in spite of the fact that the former top prospect has consistently dealt with injury problems, and he only hit .247/.307/.323 in 276 plate appearances last season. The 28-year-old was quite useful in 2015, though (albeit over only 268 PAs), and still regards himself a long-term piece for the Mets. “Big time,” said d’Arnaud, who’s controllable via arbitration through 2019.
Shortstop Trea Turner departed the Nationals’ loss to the Phillies on Saturday with a hamstring issue, but it seems he dodged a major injury. Manager Dusty Baker only expects Turner to miss a couple days, Dan Kolko of MASN was among those to report (Twitter link). That’s the lone good news of the night for the Nationals, who were on the wrong end of a football-like score (17-3) in Philadelphia.
Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie got the start for the Nationals on Saturday, his first major league action since 2015, but probably won’t be long for their rotation. Baker stated before the game, via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, that the demoted Joe Ross “will be back.” The skipper also insisted Ross and Guthrie aren’t competing for the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation. Regardless, Guthrie didn’t exactly make his case for the role. In a nightmarish showing, the 38-year-old yielded 10 earned runs on six hits and four walks over just two-thirds of an inning. Ross will be eligible to return to the majors next week.

Make Or Break Year: Travis d’Arnaud

By Jeff Todd | February 27, 2017 at 6:13pm CDT

MLBTR is rebooting its “make or break year” series, in which we analyze players who enter the season with up-and-down track records but also an opportunity to stake a claim to significant future earnings.

This time last year, Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud was looking to build off of a 2015 season in which he established himself as an offensive force, but also continued to deal with a troubling run of injuries. Now, he’s not only still facing the critique that he can’t stay healthy, but also needs to restore his trajectory as a high-quality option behind the dish.

Injuries remain the major question mark. Over his professional career, d’Arnaud has suffered a series of concussions that are all the more concerning given his position of choice. And that’s not all. The hard-working backstop’s health read-out sounds like a game of Operation, as he has racked up problems high, low, and in-between. Hand and elbow, foot and knee, and back injuries were all on the list even before the 2016 season.

There’s no denying the trouble that d’Arnaud had last year, both before and after a rotator cuff strain sent him to the DL and further clogged his medical rap sheet. He ended the year with a .247/.307/.323 batting line and just four home runs over 276 plate appearances. While his 6.9% walk rate and 18.1% strikeout rate aren’t out of line with career norms, the anemic .076 isolated slugging mark represents a big step back.

The defensive side of the equation brings yet more questions. While he continued to rate well in the pitch-framing department, d’Arnaud cut down just 17 of the 61 baserunners who attempted to steal against him — though certainly the Mets’ staff deserves a hefty share of the blame there. Despite d’Arnaud’s stalling bat, which he hopes to fix with improved swing mechanics, Mets manager Terry Collins says that “the defensive side” is “where we’ve got to really focus.” As John Harper of the New York Daily News recently reported, the young backstop’s pitch calling may have compromised his standing with the Mets’ talented pitching staff.

Given those struggles, there’s a lot for d’Arnaud to prove to an organization that has designs on contending in 2017. That’s not to say that the club doesn’t have confidence in a rebound, as it did decide to pass on potential upgrades behind the dish this winter. Light-hitting veteran Rene Rivera isn’t really suited for more than reserve duty, while Kevin Plawecki has yet to translate his offensive success in the upper minors to the game’s highest level. As Harper writes, the organization could change tack and seek an alternative — as soon as this year’s trade deadline — if d’Arnaud fails to recover his standing.

All that said, there are reasons to hope that the former first-round draft pick can make good on his obvious talent. After a solid 2014 season, d’Arnaud turned in a big (albeit injury-shortened) 2015 campaign at 26 years of age. In his 268 plate appearances that year, d’Arnaud slashed a robust .268/.340/.485 and swatted a dozen long balls, leading some to expect he’d soon establish himself as one of the game’s premier offensive threats from behind the plate. Defensively, the metrics love d’Arnaud’s pitch presentation, which many organizations have adopted as a critical element in assessing catching value. And he only just turned 28 years of age, so it’s not as if there aren’t prime seasons remaining.

While he’s still young, d’Arnaud’s future direction will be determined on the field this year — so long as he can stay in uniform and avoid yet more trips to the DL. His limited playing time has also tamped down his earnings, so he’s only set to take home $1.875MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility; cost pressures, then, won’t likely play much of a role. But as the Mets plot a course for the three further years over which they control d’Arnaud, which coincide with the team’s contract rights over several other core players, they’ll no doubt be assessing carefully the extent to which d’Arnaud is capable of providing the offensive production and defensive work that the organization needs at the catching position.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Wieters, Rays, Mets, Phillies, Orioles

By Connor Byrne | February 21, 2017 at 8:01pm CDT

The offer the Rays made to catcher Matt Wieters before he agreed to join the Nationals on Tuesday fell well short of Washington’s $21MM guaranteed proposal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays were willing to hand Wieters $6MM in guarantees and give him a chance to exceed the $10MM mark via incentives on a one-year contract. While Tampa Bay would have been happy to reel in Wieters at that price, it’s not too broken up about losing out on his services, per Topkin. As the Rays await the return of injured free agent signing Wilson Ramos, they’ll be “very content” with Curt Casali, Luke Maile and Jesus Sucre as their top options at catcher, manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday.

Mets Notes: Rosario, Conforto, D’Arnaud, Bullpen

By Mark Polishuk | December 4, 2016 at 5:34pm CDT

By re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets have already accomplished their primary offseason goal before the Winter Meetings have even begun, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. That doesn’t mean, of course, that the Amazins will be sitting back for the rest of the winter, though a team executive tells Sherman that without a long list of needs, the Mets have added flexibility to explore more creative upgrades. Here’s some more from Citi Field…

In that spirit of creativity, that same Mets executive tells Sherman that the team is open to discussing trades for any of their young players, except for top prospect Amed Rosario. This doesn’t mean the Mets will necessarily shop any minor league or controllable talent, though they’re at least willing to hear what other clubs have to offer. The Mets will even listen to offers about Michael Conforto, if for no other reason than to gauge his value, even if Conforto is considered to be close to untouchable. Dealing Conforto would be another way the Mets could solve their outfield logjam, and Conforto would net a much larger return than either Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson.
The Mets’ plan to stick with Travis d’Arnaud as their primary catcher in 2017, and those plans haven’t been changed by other catchers (such as Welington Castillo) coming onto the market, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports. The injury-plagued d’Arnaud was limited to just 75 games last season, and he was reportedly included in trade talks the Mets held with the Brewers last summer involving Jonathan Lucroy.
In another item from Rubin, the Mets are looking to sign middle relievers to one-year deals, as GM Sandy Alderson has said that the team isn’t looking for closers. If or when Jeurys Familia is suspended, New York already has Addison Reed to step in as the ninth-inning man. If the Mets aren’t willing to commit to more a single year, however, it could limit their list of choices on the open market to second- or even third-tier options.
The Mets could also turn to internal choices for the bullpen, as Alderson told reporters (including Newsday’s David Lennon) that the club would “definitely” thinking about using Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo as relievers for the start of the season.

Quick Hits: Twins, Hughes, D’Arnaud, Aoki, Mariners

By Mark Polishuk | November 20, 2016 at 10:55pm CDT

Some items from around baseball as we head into a new week…

Brian Dozier is drawing interest from other teams but the Twins aren’t looking to tie Phil Hughes’ contract to Dozier in trade talks, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Hughes still has three years and $39.6MM remaining on the extension he signed with the Twins prior to the 2015 season, and since inking that new deal, Hughes has struggled badly and battled injury problems. The veteran righty underwent surgery to help alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome last summer, and Hughes believes he can regain his old form now that he’s healthy.
While Hughes may not be getting shopped, Berardino also notes (Twitter link) that the Twins aren’t looking to add payroll, even after freeing up some money by parting ways with Trevor Plouffe, Kurt Suzuki and Tommy Milone. As one rival official puts it, “everyone knows they’re rebuilding.”
The Mets don’t seem to be looking for a big change at catcher, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports that the team told representatives of a free agent catcher that Travis d’Arnaud will be given every opportunity to succeed next season. Since the Mets offered d’Arnaud as part of trade talks for Jonathan Lucroy over the summer, it’s notable that the team is reaffirming its commitment to the talented but oft-injured catcher, though it could be that New York was more enamored with Lucroy than it is with the options on free agent catching market. Ackert does note that the Mets could look for a more reliable backup, given d’Arnaud’s injury history and the shared offensive struggles of Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera.
Though Nori Aoki has only been an Astro for less than three weeks, the veteran outfielder may now be a non-tender candidate, the Houston Chronicle’s Jake Kaplan writes. If the Astros plan to use the newly-signed Josh Reddick in left field, Aoki will be a very highly-paid fourth outfielder (thanks to a projected $6.8MM arbitration salary) and possibly an expendable part. If the Astros use Reddick in right and move George Springer to center field, Aoki will again have more of a clear role, platooning with Jake Marisnick in left. Houston has also been linked to some first baseman in rumors, which could push Yulieski Gurriel to left field and again leave Aoki without regular playing time.
For the second straight offseason, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto is acting quickly on lower-profile moves to elevate his team’s talent floor, ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield writes. Additions like Danny Valencia, Richie Shaffer and Carlos Ruiz fill holes and add more valuable depth around the Mariners’ core players, the type of top-to-bottom roster management that former Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik was unable to achieve in his time with the club.
While several big-name relievers are dominating headlines this winter, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello cites Daniel Hudson, Juan Nicasio and Koji Uehara as relatively inexpensive arms who could provide major dividends in a bullpen next season, perhaps even as closers.

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