When the Mets acquired d'Arnaud in the winter of 2012-2013, many scouts projected he could be the Mets' catcher for the next ten to fifteen years. Yes, you read that right, ten to fifteen years. After being traded for two cy young award winners (Roy Hallady in 2009, and R.A. Dickey in 2012) d'Aarnaud has gone from being considered the best catching prospect in the game, to being injured for three months (again), all the way to being the Mets everyday catcher (and not hitting at all.)
The pitchers love d'Arnaud. Triple A battery mate Zack Wheeler has said multiple times he loves Travis behind the plate. The next step is simple: hit. At 24 years old, going on 25, Travis has to show us the gap to gap power he displayed during his prime minor league days. The Mets need one more middle of the order hitter, and Travis d'Aarnaud could be the answer this season. A .285; 15 HR; 60 RBI season is not out of the realm of possibility for Travis. Injuries aside, we should begin to see the promise that the top catching prospect in baseball has.
Other news: Yesterday, WFAN's Mike Francesa said the Mets had made an offer to free agent SS Stephen Drew. As I posted a few days ago, the Red Sox have made a two year offer. The value of both deals is up in the air at the moment. Multile Mets executives denied these reports coming from Francesa Tuesday afternoon.
Also, the Mets, as well as up to three other teams, are serious about free agent reliever Fernando Rodney. Sandy Alderson has said he will most likely only give out minor league deals, Rodney would most certainly command a major league one. Stay tuned...
We need d'Arnaud to have a good year. I think he will start to hit like we expected. I'm hoping that he hits 15 homers and has around 70 RBI'S.
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