Mets believe in Travis d'Arnaud

Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud did not have the best season to say the least.

D’Arnaud only played in 75 games this season due to a strained rotator cuff that kept him out longer than expected. He hit .247 with only four home runs and 15 RBIs.

He felt the wrath of Mets fans. He even had to give up his number to Jose Reyes. It just wasn’t a great season for TdA.

Terry Collins believes in d’Arnaud, though, and thinks that he can improve. In fact, he even stated that TdA will be one of the Mets’ biggest projects during Spring Training.

“We’ve got to get this guy back, and we’ve got to get his bat going. If he is what we thought he’s going to be, he’s a middle-of-the-lineup guy who can do damage from the right side. And you know how bad we need that.”

“We’ve got to keep him somewhat healthy. You can’t keep losing your mainline guys for two months. He had 250 at-bats when he should have 500. You’re talking about a guy who missed half the season. We’ve got to get him better.”

D’Arnaud has been no stranger to injury. He missed a large portion of the 2015 season due to two injuries.

The first was due to a broken hand he suffered after being hit by a pitch. The second injury was because of a hyper-extended elbow he suffered while blocking the plate. D’Arnaud also suffered several injuries while with both the Blue Jays and Phillies.

If the Mets are successful in keeping d’Arnaud healthy, that would obviously be wonderful. But is that possible? From his history, the easy answer is that no, it’s not possible. Getting TdA on track, though, would of course be a huge asset to the team, especially if he starts hitting to his potential.

Now the real question is, will d’Arnaud even be part of the 2017 Mets?