New York Mets: Poor splits may cost Travis d’Arnaud at-bats in 2018

New York Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud may lose at-bats to platoon-mate Kevin Plawecki this season due to his poor splits against righties.

The most impressive statistic Travis d’Arnaud carries into the 2018 MLB season is how many Cy Young winners he was traded for. First, he was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Roy Halladay deal. Not long after, d’Arnaud went from the Blue Jays to the New York Mets in the R.A. Dickey trade. He has been with New York ever since, never quite living up to lofty expectations.

Initially drafted in the first round way back in 2007, d’Arnaud has reached 400 plate appearances just once in his career. Injuries are partly to blame, but his performance hasn’t helped much either. The career .245/.306/.406 batting is far from ideal. Negative defensive metrics and an inability to throw out runners also hurt his cause.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

According to Tim Healy of Newsday, d’Arnaud’s poor splits against righties may cost him even more innings in 2018. Already expected to share time with Kevin Plawecki, we may see the latter a lot more often.

Last year, d’Arnaud slashed just .225/265/.416 versus right-handed pitchers. Plawecki was far superior with a .270/.345/.459 slash line. As a right-handed swinger, it’s somewhat surprising to see Plawecki handle righties so well.

There is a downside to seeing Plawecki in the lineup more. The 27-year-old has averaged only seven home runs per 162 games. However, this is over a limited 158-game career.

The more significant concern committing to Plawecki is that before last season he never hit above .219. He still owns a .222 lifetime average. Perhaps a little more playing time could help him continue down the right path. After all, the .260/.364/.400 he hit last year did look promising.

The Mets are going to experiment with the catching position this year. Fortunately, they should have options on the trade market midyear should they decide to go that route.

Neither catcher is expected to make a huge splash this year. Their task is to play better than they did last year. If combined they can hold down the fort and give the Mets halfway decent offense from the eight-hole, they will have done their job.

Next: Keith Hernandez’s cell phone strikes back

The New York Mets do need to begin looking at the future behind the plate. For now, they will need to make due with what they have and match this pair up well with whoever is on the mound against them.