Mets part ways with Travis
Tough for mates to see him go
After 10 games and 23 hopeless at-bats, the Mets decided enough was enough.
On Sunday morning, the Mets designated catcher Travis d’Arnaud for assignment before their series finale against the Brewers at Citi Field. In a corresponding move, the team recalled Tomas Nido from Triple-A Syracuse to serve as the team’s backup catcher.
D’Arnaud spent seven years with the Mets and ended his era in Queens after a year-long recovery from Tommy John surgery. His performance was underwhelming when he joined the big-league club on April 7 after an extended rehab in spring training.
The 30-year-old catcher had gone 2-for-25 with two RBI, two walks and five strikeouts across 10 games this season. He ended his Mets career slashing .242/ .303/.401 with 47 home runs, 164 RBI, 65 doubles and 112 walks over 407 games.
“What we’ve seen from Travis, it’s been tough,”
Mickey Callaway said. “Coming off of a year recovery and then trying to come out here and not get to play often is a tough thing. And the performance just hasn’t been there. So we had tough decisions to make and this is a tough one.”
The organization is putting emphasis on a defenseheavy backstop role a moment too late.
The Mets wanted to give d’Arnaud ample time to show the club his talent level coming off a year of inactivity following Tommy John surgery. Ultimately, the team’s decision to hold d’Arnaud’s hand through his recovery process and call him up to the big leagues was a blaring miscalculation.
The Mets reportedly engaged in many trade discussions for d’Arnaud over the offseason. If the Mets had released d’Arnaud during spring training, the team could have saved a portion of the $3.515 million owed to him on a contract that became guaranteed on Opening Day. Now, the Mets are forced to eat that money and start over with Nido as the backup catcher.
“We wanted to make sure that we got Travis healthy, that we were able to give him a fair evaluation in spring training,” Brodie Van Wagenen said. “And this move wasn’t about economics, obviously. It was a matter of giving Travis the full opportunity to rehab, seeing what he could do in spring training.”
Deeming d’Arnaud as the Mets second-best catcher caused a rift between veteran backstop Devin Mesoraco and the ballclub. While d’Arnaud was still rehabbing at Mets camp, Mesoraco expected to be on the Opening Day roster as the backup catcher.
Instead, the Mets promoted Nido for his defense and enthusiasm to grow behind the plate. Mesoraco opted to look for a home with another major-league club, but came up empty handed. The veteran catcher sits on the Mets restricted list after the team declined to release him.
“It’s an open door,” Van Wagenen said on the possibility of Mesoraco returning to the Mets. “He remains under contract with us and has made the choice not to report to Syracuse.”
As the Mets pitching staff struggles to find its rhythm, helping starters succeed was a big factor in letting d’Arnaud go. The rotation entered Sunday with a combined 5.32 ERA, which ranks secondworst in the National League and 24th in the majors.
Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler own 4.85 ERAs one month into the season. Noah Syndergaard holds a 6.35 ERA after another poor outing on Saturday against the Brewers. And Jason Vargas carries a 7.20 mark. Steven Matz owns the best ERA out of the bunch and pitched well Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody to hear me say we haven’t pitched as well as we’re capable of,” Van Wagenen said. “We’re a month into the season, we’ve got a .500 record, we’re two games out of first place, and we know we’re capable of playing better in a number of areas.”
D’Arnaud was an authentic and caring teammate. For those reasons, and his seven-year tenure with the team, it was hard for the Mets to see him go.
“He’s such a good dude,” Todd Frazier said. “He worked his butt off. It was tough, he didn’t get that many opportunities and when he did, it was tough for him. I gave him a big hug. I told him I’ll try to stay in touch.”