New York Mets, Travis d’Arnaud Reportedly Avoid Arbitration

The New York Mets have reportedly reached an agreement with catcher Travis d’Arnaud to avoid arbitration.

According to Jon Heyman, the New York Mets have reached a deal worth $1.875 million to avoid arbitration.

Despite being a highly-touted prospect for the Mets, Travis d’Arnaud hasn’t quite panned out. As the big prize in the trade that sent Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, d’Arnaud was expected to be the catcher of the Mets for years to come.

Luckily for the Mets, they still have won the deal because they also got All-Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard in the deal. One of the reasons why d’Arnaud has struggled in the majors is because he has been extremely injury-prone.

In four seasons with the Mets, d’Arnaud’s career-high in games played is just 108. The past two seasons, d’Arnaud hasn’t played in more that 80 games each year. As the expected starting catcher in 2017, this is certainly concerning for the Mets.

Even when healthy, the results have been mixed. Despite being a great hitting prospect for a catcher, d’Arnaud has struggled with that in the majors as well. In 2015, d’Arnaud looked like he was finally turning the corner as a major league hitter. That year, he totaled a .268 batting average, 12 home runs, and 41 RBIs in 67 games.

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That success was short-lived for d’Arnaud, as he hit just four home runs in 75 games last season. Despite his struggles, d’Arnaud is likely going to be the starting catcher for the Mets in 2017. Even though he has been hurt and struggled, there is still some hope in the organization that the once touted prospect will find success in the majors.