Tag: Travis d’Arnaud

Mets Catchers Worst in Last Decade

Mets fans know that 2017 is a make or break year for Travis d’Arnaud as the starting catcher. He’s always had a reputation as struggling to stay healthy and he’s never been known as a stellar defender. So if he doesn’t supply offense, he doesn’t have much game at all. His regression in 2016 to only playing 75 games and hitting .247/4 HR/ 15 RBI was startlingly poor. I have a feeling that a bad start to the season will put d’Arnaud on the bench permanently this season.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield takes a great look at the positions that teams have struggled to fill over the last decade. The Mets catchers are included with a frightening -14.2 WAA.

John Buck Continues Torrid Power Hitting

Mets catcher John Buck continued his assault on National League pitching yesterday by blasting a garbage time home run to left-center in the ninth inning of a blowout loss. Yesterday the victim was Phillies pitcher Jeremy Horst. But Buck has been taking advantage of NL pitchers all month.

Buck started to tail off a bit over the last week, so I thought his storybook month might have come to an end. But he lit up Horst for a garbage time homer to keep the fairytale alive for one more day.

Buck’s now third in the NL in home runs and first in RBI’s. The Mets haven’t had a catcher with this kind of pop since Mike Piazza left. Sure, Paul LoDuca had some solid seasons. But what Buck is doing right now is amazin’. Continue reading “John Buck Continues Torrid Power Hitting”

Mets Trade R.A. Dickey to Blue Jays

Travis d'Arnaud At Bat
Travis d’Arnaud At Bat (Photo credit: tjperr)

R.A. Dickey agreed to a 2-year/$25 million contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays today that completed the trade with the Mets for the 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner. The Jays will also get catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas. In return, the Mets get top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, minor league pitcher Noah Snydergaard, catcher John Buck, and minor league outfielder Wuilmer Becerra.

The trade seems like a good deal for the Mets with d’Arnaud being listed as a top 20 prospect in all of baseball. It further cements the Mets rebuilding effort and willingness to concede the 2013 season to be a fifth straight losing season. The only thing holding the Mets back from a complete overhaul is Johan Santana and his massive contract. The Mets tried to talk Santana trades at the winter meetings but no teams had any interest.

Time will tell if this trade works out for the Mets. We won’t know for sure for a few seasons. If d’Arnaud turns out to be suspect instead of a prospect, Sandy Alderson will have made one of the worst moves in Mets history. But if d’Arnaud turns into the next Buster Posey the Mets will have done rather well for a 38 year old knuckleballer.

R.A. Dickey Trade to Blue Jays Appears Imminent

_MG_4618Multiple media sources are reporting that 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey is on the verge of being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Reportedly, the Mets will receive top prospects including catcher Travis d’Arnaud and outfielder Anthony Gose.

The Blue Jays have already improved with some major acquisitions this offseason. They made a blockbuster trade with the Marlins acquiring Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle. They also signed free agent Melky Cabrera. Acquiring Dickey puts them in the top tier of American League teams heading into the 2013 season.

The Mets will acquire some sorely needed catching and outfield help. Both d’Arnaud and Gose are considered high potential prospects which is what the Mets have been after since the season ended. And with contract extension talks stalled with Dickey, the Mets are clearly ready to head in another direction.