The New York Mets are off to a fantastic start, entering Wednesday with a 9-1 mark on the young season. Unfortunately, the Mets received bad news prior to their game against the Miami Marlins: catcher Travis d'Arnaud has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and may require Tommy John surgery.
The Mets have placed C Travis d'Arnaud on the 10-day DL due to a partial UCL tear in his right elbow. Treatment, including potential surgery, will be determined in the coming days. C Tomas Nido has been called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to take d'Arnaud's spot on the roster.
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) April 11, 2018
While losing d'Arnaud for any period is a blow to the Mets, it shouldn't be a cause for panic.
To some extent, d'Arnaud should've been expected to miss time. Throughout his career, he's found remaining on the field to be a challenge. Last season was just the second time he'd appeared in more than 80 games in four tries. Obviously there's a difference between losing d'Arnaud for the season before tax day and losing him for 80 games spread across three or four disabled list stints, but the Mets should be able to weather the storm no matter what.
Consider that the Mets had achieved their hot start despite a cold catching tandem. d'Arnaud had hit just .200/.250/.400 across 15 at-bats, and Kevin Plawecki hasn't done any better (.158/.360/.211) while receiving a larger share of the playing time. Clearly that isn't predictive -- it just shows that it's possible to win games without getting much from your catcher.
There's also this to consider: the Mets have some passable options to use in d'Arnaud's place
Tomas Nido, who is joining the club, was ranked as the Mets' no. 6 prospect by Baseball Prospectus. BP cited Nido's glove (advanced metrics have him as an elite framer) and raw power as reasons to believe he could slot in as a backup catcher. The Mets could eventually turn to Jose Lobaton if they'd prefer a veteran. Lobaton is a solid defender as well, albeit with less upside than that provided by Nido's youth and pop.
The Mets won't find many external fits, but one should become available in the coming days. The Washington Nationals designated Miguel Montero for assignment on Wednesday. Montero has struggled mightily since leaving the Chicago Cubs last summer. His left-handed stick would complement Plawecki's right-handed bat, however, and he would come cheap.
To recap: the Mets would rather have d'Arnaud than not, but they should be okay regardless.
