The New York Mets almost experienced a Wednesday in which they lost both of their catchers.
Just hours after it was announced that Travis d’Arnaud was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a torn UCL, which will likely need Tommy John surgery, Kevin Plawecki was hit in the hand by a 98 mph fastball during the Mets’ 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
X-rays initially came back negative for Plawecki on Thursday morning, which looked to be a sizeable obstacle dodged by the Mets as they were already forced to call up their top catching prospect Tomas Nido as a No. 2 option. But Friday morning brought bad news as Plawecki’s hand was indeed broken.
A timetable has not been released for a possible return, but it wil be for an extended period of time.
Veteran Jose Lobaton is with triple-A Las Vegas if the Mets need another catcher as an emergency stopgap. The 32-year-old spent the past four years with the Washington Nationals where he’s proven to be nothing more than a light-hitting backup.
The catcher’s spot has been an area of need for the Mets over the past few seasons. Expected to be the franchise’s backstop of the future after being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays, d’Arnaud has battled inconsistencies and injuries over the last six years that have limited any chance of him developing into a star.
He has a career batting average of .245 with 47 home runs and 162 RBI in almost 400 games. Suspect defense and a weak arm hasn’t helped his chances of holding down the starting job.
It’s why Plawecki was expected to platoon with him this season, even though that doesn’t provide much of an upgrade. Early on this season, Plawecki once again is showing that he isn’t going to be able to hit for any kind of average as the .219 career hitter has collected just three hits in his first 28 at-bats.
For a team that suddenly has the league’s best record, the Mets could become a serious contender for the 2018 season if they could find a way to address the position that has now become their weakest link. They could turn to the trade market for a quick and effective answer.
While he is currently on the disabled list because of a back contusion, Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has become one of the most promising catchers in the game and the Mets are interested.
Per Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets have reached out to the Marlins about a possible deal.
The 23-year-old is the best running catcher, threw out 32-percent of would-be base stealers last season (five-percent about the league average) and has a developing offensive game that can hold some serious power.
While his averaged dipped from .303 to .278 last year, Realmuto hit 17 home runs and drove in 65 runs in 141 games.
On a rebuilding Marlins team that dealt away Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna and Christian Yelich over the winter, Realmuto has already made it known that he wants to be traded as well considering Miami is going nowhere any time soon.
Miami would likely be looking for prospects in return for Realmuto, though the Mets farm system isn’t exactly teeming with young, can’t-miss talent. New York doesn’t have a single prospect ranked within MLB Pipeline‘s top 100.
