KEVIN FORBID
Plawecki’s plan not to go back to Triple-A
ATLANTA — If Kevin Plawecki is looking over his shoulder these days, it’s only to chase the occasional ball that gets behind him.
The insecurity of the last two seasons has largely disappeared, with Plawecki no longer concerned that a bad day or week will bury him, jeopardizing his spot on the Mets roster.
“This time it has been different mentally for me,” Plawecki said Sunday before the Mets beat the Braves 5-1 at SunTrust Park.
Splitting catching duties with Travis d’Arnaud, the 26-year-old Plawecki has hit .283 with two homers and five RBIs in 18 games since his latest return from Triple-A Las Vegas, giving the Mets hope they can develop a decent job share at the position heading into 2018.
In a thin market for catchers, general manager Sandy Alderson has indicated it’s unlikely the Mets will veer from the tandem in place. The wild card of the duo is Plawecki, who has spent the last three seasons on a yo-yo between the Mets and Las Vegas.
It was because Plawecki was performing so well for Las Vegas in the second half that the Mets had no reservations about letting Rene Rivera leave as a waiver claim to the Cubs. And Plawecki has justified the organization’s faith in him since returning from Las Vegas.
“There’s guys, after they have had a little taste of the big leagues, they go down and wait for the phone to ring,” manager Terry Collins said. “Kevin went down and made the phone ring, and that is what you are supposed to do. Now he’s in a situation, I thought he’s done a nice job with game preparation, pitch selection and he’s throwing better than I have ever seen him throw. He went down and worked at it and now you have got to say how much is he going to play, and he will dictate that by the way he plays, and he’s played very well.”
Plawecki played 73 games for the Mets in 2015, but his .576 OPS and below-average defensive skills prompted the organization to sign Rivera the following spring.
D’Arnaud’s inability to stay healthy gave Plawecki chances the last two seasons, but until this latest recall from Las Vegas the Mets hadn’t received results from him.
“I was pressing a little too much, to be honest, and maybe swinging at some pitches that I normally am not comfortable swinging at, just to try to make some things happen,” Plawecki said. “And what has been different this time is just trusting what I have been doing all season down there and not having that thought in the back of my head, ‘How long am I going to be here and how big of a window do I have to prove myself ?’ ”