MLB Player News

It didn't take long for Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud to make an impact in his first game back from the minors, clubbing a three-run homer off Scott Kazmir during Tuesday's win against the A's. Tuesday's performance should be even further proof why you should consider adding d'Arnaud to your Fantasy roster.

d'Arnaud was a player featured in this week's Waiver Wire column, and I'm not backing down from my assessment. In fact, Tuesday's home run only strengthens it. 

The Mets demoted d'Arnaud in early June to get his confidence up, and he's done exactly that. He posted ridiculous numbers following his demotion, and it seems he's ready to carry that over into the majors. Perhaps we should take his minor-league numbers with a little grain of salt since he was back in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. However, manager Sandy Alderson said not all of d'Arnaud's home runs were in hitter's parks and some came against top-quality pitching. 

d'Arnaud came into the season as a fringe starter in Fantasy, as many of us were anticipating a breakout season. It might have taken a little longer than expected to happen, but now might be the time to start gaining confidence in d'Arnaud living up to his potential.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco, who tied a franchise record by homering in his fifth straight game Tuesday, is succeeding by "staying within himself," manager Bryan Price told MLB.com.

"He's doing it hitting in the four-hole, where I think at times you can as a hitter kind of inherit some extra sense of responsibility and maybe try to hit more home runs and extra-base hits and manufacture things that may not be there for you on a particular night if you don't get the pitches to hit," Price said. "He's really staying within himself. I know it's a cliche, but he's really doing a nice job of taking what he gets and really doing something with it."

Mesoraco, 26, is one shy of the all-time record for consecutive games with a home run by a catcher. The Giants' Walker Cooper homered in six straight in June 1947.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco didn't cool off Tuesday, smacking a homer in his fifth straight game as the Reds fell to the Cubs, 7-3.

Mesoraco's homer streak was in jeopardy Monday after he was put on base four times without getting a hit, but he managed a ninth-inning grand slam. He connected on another ninth-inning home run Tuesday, finishing 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI. Mesoraco has seemed nearly invincible lately, and he now owns a .320/.387/.667 line with 14 home runs and 40 RBI in 150 at-bats.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud celebrated his return to the big leagues by going 1 for 4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the A's.

d'Arnaud blew the game open with a third inning home run that put his team up 7-1. He racked up six home runs in 15 games with Triple-A Las Vegas during his stint in the minors and may have his power stroke back on track. The catcher has hit .182/.270/.295 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 132 at-bats with the Mets.

The Mets officially recalled catcher Travis d'Arnaud from Triple-A Las Vegas Tuesday. d'Arnaud had quite the run with Las Vegas following his demotion in early June, batting .436 with a .909 slugging percentage, 1.384 OPS, six home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBI in 15 games.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco reached base in all five of his plate appearances Monday, drawing two walks and getting hit by a pitch twice before launching a ninth-inning grand slam in his team's 6-1 win over the Cubs.

Mesoraco entered Monday with home runs in three straight games, and the Cubs appeared devoted to preventing him from delivering another blast -- until the ninth inning, when the catcher crushed a ball to center field to ice the game for the Reds. He's hit .315/.384/.651 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 146 at-bats duing his breakout season.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud is expected to be in New York for Tuesday's game against the A's, the team announced.

d'Arnaud, who left his game with Triple-A Las Vegas Monday to make the trip, went 24 for 55 with eight doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI in 15 games with the minor-league club. He is expected to take over starting duties at catcher moving forward.

A team source told the New York Daily News that a promotion for Mets catcher prospect Kevin Plawecki from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Las Vegas will happen "very soon." A move could coincide with the Mets' anticipated recall of catcher Travis d'Arnaud from Las Vegas this week.

Plawecki, a 2012 first-round pick, is batting .329 with a .376 on-base percentage, .491 slugging percentage and .867 OPS in 57 games for Binghamton. He has six home runs, 18 doubles, 43 RBI, 32 runs, 14 walks and 27 strikeouts as well.

The plan remains for the Mets to recall catcher Travis d'Arnaud from Triple-A Las Vegas during a two-game series vs. Oakland, which begins Tuesday, team insiders once again told ESPN.

d'Arnaud has been on a tear since his demotion to the minors a few weeks ago. He is batting .444 (24 for 54) with a .926 slugging percentage, 1.409 OPS, six home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBI in 14 games since his demotion.

"It's encouraging," general manager Sandy Alderson told ESPN of d'Arnaud's progress after Sunday's win at Miami.

Alderson added d'Arnaud's production can't be dismissed because of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

"He's done it in other ballparks, too," Alderson said. "So it's not just Vegas. And off some decent pitching. [Tim] Cooney pitched [Saturday] night. So you can't totally discount it."

Mets manager Terry Collins feels catcher Travis d'Arnaud could be the spark the team's lineup needs when he returns from Triple-A Las Vegas, which is expected to happen later this week, per MLB.com.

d'Arnaud is hitting .453 with nine multi-hit games, eight doubles, six homers and 16 RBI in 13 games since being demoted to the minors in early June.

"Certainly, we don't expect him to hit .500, but if [going to the minors] helped and it's built up his confidence and he's changed a couple of things, then when he comes back, he'll be a big boost to us," Collins said.

"Hopefully, when Travis comes back, he brings that hot bat with him and ... Boy, I'll tell you, it changes that one part of the lineup to be that guy down there that can do some damage and drive in a run, because that's what we've been missing."