New York Mets: Travis D'Arnaud Ready For New Position

The New York Mets seem ready to give catcher Travis d’Arnaud a second position, and he is ready to handle whatever the Mets send his way.

The New York Mets have a big season ahead of them, as they look to repeat on their surprise 2015 National League Pennant. The roster is much improved over last season, as the Mets have one of the best offseasons in baseball, filling numerous holes and retaining Yoenis Cespedes in the outfield.

One of the advantages that the Mets have over other teams is at the catcher position. The Mets have two above-average, young players at the spot in starting Travis D’Arnaud and backup Kevin Plawecki. Both have reasons that they should receive a majority of the playing time, but the Mets will have to make a decision on an almost daily basis about who should be behind the plate. How could they fix this problem? How about getting them in the lineup at other spots?

It has been something the Mets have discussed in past offseason, but this time around it looks like it could become a reality. Without a true backup first baseman, we could see d’Arnaud or Plawecki play there; Plawecki has some experience at the position, making 20 appearances and 18 starts there in the minor leagues. d’Arnaud on the other hand has played only catcher basically since being selected in the 2007 MLB Draft out of high school, making two appearances at first base when he was in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

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“I had so much fun at first base,” d’Arnaud said. “We were playing in Tucson, and I was more nervous there than I was behind the plate. It was a lot of fun. And we won that game, too. I picked a couple of balls to help them out.”

In high school, d’Arnaud played second and third base when he was not behind the plate. The Mets have not told d’Arnaud where he will be playing in spring training, but he is ready for whatever they throw his way. “Not really — just to come in and be ready to do whatever.”

d’Arnaud has greatly improved his defense behind the plate, as he threw out 33 percent of would be base runners in 2015, up from 19 the season before. He also drastically cut down on the passed balls, going from 12 in 2014 to only one in 2015. But, the Kansas City Royals took advantage of d’Arnaud in the World Series, so he still does have some work to do behind the plate.

So why would the Mets want to move a player that seems to be improving his craft? For one, Bob Geren, who is responsible for helping d’Arnaud as much as anyone, left to take the bench coach job with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, d’Arnaud has suffered numerous injuries while catching, albeit some flukier than others throughout his professional career.

While the injuries may not be self-inflicted, they still keep d’Arnaud out of the lineup. It is something the Mets will try their best to avoid, and having a capable backup in Plawecki will help. But, losing his bat in the lineup is not something the Mets want to have happen often, so finding a secondary position for him to play on off days from behind the plate is a good idea.

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New York Mets: Travis D’Arnaud Ready For Whatever Mets Throw His Way

By Kenneth Teape | Feb 17, 2016

The New York Mets seem ready to give catcher Travis d’Arnaud a second position, and he is ready to handle whatever the Mets send his way.

More from Empire Writes Back