Travis d’Arnaud has just over 200 at bats this season for the Mets and has put up an OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) of 911. To put that into perspective Buster Posey’s OPS is around 880 although he has stayed healthy and on the field far longer than d’Arnaud.
Simply put d’Arnaud has arrived and appears to be on the fast track to stardom. If he can master the art of staying healthy he figures to be a top flight catcher for a number of years to come. And now adding to a proficient bat he seems to have settled in as a solid defender behind the plate. His throwing arm, not previously considered a weapon, has come around too. Recently he has been throwing better than at any previous time in his short major league career.
But what does that mean for the junior partner in the catching firm of d’Arnaud, Plawecki, and Associates?
Kevin Plawecki who at age 24 is two years younger than d’Arnaud was named the 80th best prospect in the game by Baseball Prospectus before the season began. (Dilson Herrera was #82)
In 2014 Plawecki split time between double-A Binghamton and triple-A Las Vegas. He had a very solid 825 OPS with 11 home runs when the stats are combined.
When d’Arnaud went down with his injury this year it led to the promotion of Plawecki. And while his 600 OPS in his first major league exposure is not particularly impressive one must bear in mind that d’Arnaud was even weaker than this in the 99 AB’s he had during his rookie year of 2013 (OPS was 548).
This certainly doesn’t guarantee that Plawecki will be in two years where d’Arnaud is presently but given what we have seen it is entirely possible that Plawecki can settle in as an above average offensive major league catcher. This has value both to the Mets and likely to other teams.
The Mets could opt to have Plawecki be d’Arnaud’s backup in 2016. Certainly he would figure to outperform AAAA talents like Anthony Recker and Johnny Monell. Given d’Arnaud’s checkered health history Plawecki could make for a solid insurance policy should Travis find himself on the DL for months again next season.
The alternative is to use Plawecki as trade bait. A quick scan of stats shows three teams who could very much use an upgrade behind the dish.
Seattle’s situation looks dire. Their great hope Mike Zunino was recently sent back to AAA with a deserved demotion as he was batting .174. And he is still better than the guys they left themselves with. Jesus Sucre is at .130 and John Hicks (in just two dozen at bats) is at .043. This means the Mariners have gotten little more offense at catcher than the Mets get from Bart Colon. Yikes.
The M’s are looking for a new GM right now. You have to think that the new guy will need to do something about the catching position this off season.
The Tampa Bay Rays also appear in need of help behind the dish. Rene Rivera, their #1 guy, looked awfully good in 2014. Not so in 2015. In around 300 AB’s Rivera is batting .180. That’s Reckerish to coin a term.
Minnesota has not gotten much from its catchers. Kurt Suzuki has a .240 BA and 613 OPS as of a few days ago. They too could be interested.
The point is that Sandy Alderson may opt to punch up his offense and/or tighten the team’s defense. Shortstop is still not really filled in Queens. If Plawecki could be a part or full payment for a solid shortstop upgrade then Alderson should strongly consider pulling the trigger.
TDA can play but he’s a china doll. Let’s see him play a full season before we trade away his insurance policy. And dont forget, Plawecki earns the minimum – any veteran backup will cost triple that.
I think KP should stay and be the backup…I mean he is likely to still get 300+ AB. The way things are going with TdA it’s basically a platoon position. And that’s a big luxury to have.
Boston fans were saying the same thing about Carlton Fisk prior to 1976 and he turned out okay. Terry Steinbach and Mickey Tettleton didn’t start catching 140 games a year right away, either.
Catchers are always going to get hurt. But those people who are ready to claim that TDA is the second coming of Sandy Alomar Jr. need to step back and take a breath.
Oh, I expect Travis to put up a better career than Sandy Jr. He may not make as many All Star games, but then Sandy wasn’t always deserving of his All Star selections; or so I think. That was the widely held opinion at the time; maybe the new fielding metrics have anointed Alomar to some previously unknown height; and I will admit in retrospect that getting good results out of Mark Clark, Paul Shuey and Derrek Lilliquest is impressive enough.
But to my thinking, Sandy Alomar was anointed a star well ahead of any evidence; whereas Travis d’Arnaud is going to be an actual star. Dude can hit.
I believe the time to consider trading Palwecki is when Ali Sanchez hits at the AA ball level.
The comparison was over fragility.
I doubt Plawecki has much trade value after this season considering he’s been putrid at the plate ever since he was called up to AAA last year and has shown very little at the MLB level as well
I am a big fan of Plawecki and I believe he will be an above average catcher. He hasn’t put up big numbers in AAA or MLB yet so I have to agree that his trade value is low. I think that TDA is an offensive force to be reckoned with and could be an all star. If that is the case then TDA will probably be getting 136 starts a year. That leaves Plawecki in AAA to start 2016 and let him hit his way onto the major league team. I think he will by July. It is then I would reevaluate, see if TDA is everthing he appears to be, and see what needs the team has at the end of the 2016 season.
Agree with trading KP under the right circumstances. One more big bat would make the Mets division favorites next year and they have enough parts to send 3-4 players for another star to descend on Citifield. Amazing now how everyone has stopped blasting Alderson and Collins. Winning does that.