Mets Still Waiting For Their Backstop of the Future
SPRING TRAINING
New York Mets: Travis d'Arnaud still battling himself for the starting spot behind the plate.
We've been at this for five years now.
Travis d'Arnaud if far from being a novice.
He turned 29-years old earlier this month, but has yet to exceed 115 games or 400 at-bats in any season. In fact, after his debut in 2013 Travis has only played in 362 of a possible 648 regular season games (56%) over the last four seasons.
Injuries are squarely to blame. I hear (former Islanders goalie and present ESPN radio personality) Rick DePietro say many times an athlete's best ability is his availability. Words never rang more true.
Travis d'Arnaud's medical chart is lengthy.
Minors:
- 2010 - herniated disk lower back
- 2012 - torn posterior cruciate ligament left knee
- 2013 - fractured left foot
- 2014 - concussion; bone chip right elbow
- 2015 - fractured right hand; hyper-extended left elbow
- 2016 - right rotator cuff strain
- 2017 - right wrist
That's a lot of physical depreciation over a short span of time.
If nothing else, though, he has demonstrated offensive ability. If you blend together his 2014, 2015, and 2017 seasons, he averaged 18 doubles/13 home runs/46 RBI in just 324 at bats.
But what good is that if he can't stay on the field?
Even then, offense is a secondary issue for me. I'm a firm believer in having a supreme receiver behind the plate. And quite frankly, his positional skills and ability to game-manage a rotation leave much to be desired.
The Mets main strength is their starting rotation. It's a formula that has worked well for them in the past. Therefore, I need a catcher who will be to Syndergaard, Harvey, Matz, deGrom, and Wheeler, what Jerry Grote was to Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, and Jon Matlack, and what Gary Carter was to Doc Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, and Rick Aguilera. Whereas Grote and Carter actively helped their pitchers become better, today's clutch of Mets pitchers have gained their varying degrees of notoriety in spite of Travis d'Arnaud.
It's a badly kept secret that at least one Mets starting pitcher does not particularly like throwing to Travis. Some pitchers seemed ambivalent over the years, while others appeared kindly agreeable at best. That strikes me as problematic.
Granted, d'Arnaud has improved since leading the National League in 2014 with twelve passed balls. But his inability to neutralize base runners can not be overlooked (unless he's hitting and producing runs). Travis only threw out 17% of would be base-stealers last season - ten points behind the league average (27%) - and he only averages 22% for his career. Jerry Grote, meanwhile, averaged 38 percent for his career. At his best, he threw base runners out at a rate of 40%. Gary Carter averaged 35% caught stealing for his career, and led the National League in caught stealing percentage three times.
The Mets main strength is their starting rotation. It's a formula that has worked well for them in the past. Therefore, I need a catcher who will be to Syndergaard, Harvey, Matz, deGrom, and Wheeler, what Jerry Grote was to Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, and Jon Matlack, and what Gary Carter was to Doc Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, and Rick Aguilera. Whereas Grote and Carter actively helped their pitchers become better, today's clutch of Mets pitchers have gained their varying degrees of notoriety in spite of Travis d'Arnaud.
It's a badly kept secret that at least one Mets starting pitcher does not particularly like throwing to Travis. Some pitchers seemed ambivalent over the years, while others appeared kindly agreeable at best. That strikes me as problematic.
Granted, d'Arnaud has improved since leading the National League in 2014 with twelve passed balls. But his inability to neutralize base runners can not be overlooked (unless he's hitting and producing runs). Travis only threw out 17% of would be base-stealers last season - ten points behind the league average (27%) - and he only averages 22% for his career. Jerry Grote, meanwhile, averaged 38 percent for his career. At his best, he threw base runners out at a rate of 40%. Gary Carter averaged 35% caught stealing for his career, and led the National League in caught stealing percentage three times.
Sandy Alderson has long defied one of the most fundamental team building precepts - being strong up the middle. It has been one of my biggest gripes. Travis is arbitration eligible through the 2019 season, so I don't expect Alderson addressing this anytime soon.
* * *
If a catcher can hit .260 in the major leagues, he's worth at least a discussion. Kevin Plawecki did just that last season. Perhaps he's finally becoming comfortable in his major league skin. Now 27-years old, Kevin was 26 for 100 with five doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI. If you play along and multiply by five, that projects to 25 doubles, 15 home runs, and 65 RBI over 500 at-bats.
Like d'Arnaud, however, Plawecki only threw out runners last season at a rate of 17%. His career rate is 23% over 158 total games.
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