TRAVIS’ SPOT IS GETTIN’ SWIPED

Noah way TC chooses d’Arnaud over Rivera

PORT ST. LUCIE — Maybe the four stolen bases by the Astros on Friday clinched it in his mind, but Terry Collins didn’t leave much doubt that Rene Rivera will be the starting catcher on Opening Day, and perhaps for at least the majority of Noah Syndergaard’s starts this season.

He has paired Syndergaard with Travis d’Arnaud throughout spring training, hoping to develop chemistry, but Collins isn’t going to fight the obvious: until proven otherwise, teams are going to run wild against that combination.

Here’s the more significant question, then, as spring training heads into the final stretch for the Mets: how much does d’Arnaud have to hit to play regularly over Rivera, the stronger defensive catcher?

The easy answer is: a lot more than he did last year.

“That’s the big factor,’’ Collins said Friday. “If he’s driving in a ton of runs, you will ignore what the throwing is like. If he’s hitting home runs and driving in runs, you’ll forget all about that other stuff.

“Right now that’s the focus and I understand that. But if he gets it going offensively, he’s going to play a lot of games.”

The use of three “ifs” there seemed to make the manager’s point, wittingly or unwittingly. For all the optimism about d’Arnaud’s new swing and some good results this spring, no one knows quite what to expect from him after his disastrous 2016 season.

You’d have to think he’s not going to get a particularly long leash, however, unless his throwing improves dramatically.

The Mets were hoping that hiring a catching coach, Glenn Sherlock, would make a difference for d’Arnaud defensively, especially with his throwing, and Collins says they see significant improvement in drills.

So far, the work hasn’t translated to games — d’Arnaud is 0-for-12 throwing out base-stealers this spring.

As proof there were the Astros’ runners on Friday, taking off at every opportunity, going 4-for-4 in steals while Syndergaard and d’Arnaud were in the game, including one by outfielder Jake Marisnick on a pitchout.

Suffice it to say that didn’t sit well with the manager. And while Syndergaard has had problems holding runners in the past, Collins volunteered that his time to the plate on the pitchout was 1.36 seconds, or quick enough that the onus was on d’Arnaud.

“When Noah’s on the mound and we pitch out, we’ve gotta throw the guy out,’’ Collins said. “So we’ll certainly take a look at both sides and see what we can do to make it work better.”

For that matter, Collins said Syndergaard has made dramatic improvements overall in holding runners this spring, from varying how long he holds the ball in the stretch position, to his delivery times.

“He had two today that were sub-1.3,’’ Collins said. “So he’s made huge strides.’’

With that in mind, Collins vetoed Sherlock’s suggestion for a pitchout earlier in the game.

“Glenn wanted to pitch out but I said, ‘I want to see a regular play,’ ” Collins said after the game. “We know we’re going to face that during the summer. People are going to run on him. So we’ve certainly got to be ready for it.”

On that steal, d’Arnaud had time but his throw was well short and to the shortstop side of the bag, skipping in the grass.

On the pitchout, d’Arnaud made a strong throw that was on the money, but he took too much time getting rid of the ball, allowing Marisnick to slide in safely.

Collins said he believes d’Arnaud is simply thinking too much about the changes he has made with Sherlock in his daily defensive work.

“I certainly like his arm stroke a lot better now than last year,’’ Collins said. “The velocity is there, the arm strength is there. We’ve just gotta get him to speed it up. I think right now he’s focused on the mechanics of it all, which I certainly understand and support.

“But as we get into the last week we’ve gotta get it sped up a little bit. He’s tried to change the mechanics of his throwing so much, and that’s foremost on his mind.’’

As for d’Arnaud, he insisted he’s not frustrated at the lack of results.

“It’s part of the process,’’ he said. “You’ve just gotta keep grinding, keep working, and good things will happen.

“It’s not the arm strength or anything else. It’s just getting the technique and the transfer down, getting a good grip on the ball, and I have a higher percentage chance of making a good, clean throw.’’

Maybe it will click at some point. But Collins can’t afford to wait, which is why he said “there’s a good chance” Rivera will be catching Syndergaard on Opening Day.

The pairing worked well last year. So far d’Arnaud, for all of his offensive potential, has offered no reason for Collins to mess with that success.