Travis d'Arnaud has a partially torn UCL

by Brian Erni April 11, 2018

Travis d'Arnaud is headed to the disable list with a partially torn UCL.

Major news from the #Mets. Travis d'Arnaud has a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow. Tommy John surgery possible. Tomas Nido up. TdA on DL.
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 11, 2018

Travis entered the season in a platoon with Kevin Plawecki, and thus far, had started four of the Mets' 10 games. He has slashed .200/.250/.400 with a homer and three RBIs.

It's incredibly frustrating for d'Arnaud, who never can seem to stay on the field. D'Arnaud played in a career-high 112 games last season, and has only eclipsed the 100 games played mark one other time (2014) in his big league career. At 29, this is widely viewed as a make-or-break season for the former-top prospect. With Tommy John a real possibility, it's a devastating blow to his career.

The silver lining is that the Mets are in a position to absorb this hit. Plawecki is Noah Syndergaard's personal catcher anyway, so he was guaranteed to get a significant amount of time behind the plate. And even though Plawecki's batting average (.158) isn't where you'd want it, he's getting on base at a .360 clip. And that average mark may rise naturally anyway. He's posted a .214 BABIP against a 35.7 hard-hit rate, which suggests that he's been exceedingly unlucky so far this season. It's a long way of saying that, at least offensively, the Mets shouldn't lose out much with Plawecki getting the bulk of the at bats, especially once Plaw starts getting a few more fortuitous bounces.

Then there's Nido, who is the Mets' top catching prospect, and has considerable value to this squad. He's got a cannon for an arm, and that's something the Mets wouldn't mind having behind the dish for a spot start or two. It remains to be seen if he will hit enough in the Bigs to justify a full-time roster spot, but this could act as a good opportunity to get a glimpse of Nido's potential.

It's a tough blow for Travis, one that I personally hope he's able to bounce back from. But if there's something to take solace in, it's that the Mets should be fine in his absence.