Just Mets

During Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Braves, Travis d’Arnaud injured his arm and was removed from the game after AJ Pierzynski collided with him at home plate.

The Mets breathed a sigh of relief when x-rays on d’Arnaud’s elbow and arm came back negative with what the team described as a hyper-extended elbow.

D’Arnaud is listed as day-to-day. While d’Arnaud told reporters it was possible he would be available this afternoon, Terry Collins said he will have at least today’s game off and only be available in an emergency.

While everyone was breathing a sigh of relief following the game, there were serious concerns following the injury and leading up to the results of d’Arnaud’s x-ray.

“A lot of negative thoughts were going through my head,” d’Arnaud said after the game. “I’m just very fortunate that it wasn’t as serious as I was thinking. It just feels swollen. I’m sure a couple of ice treatments and I’ll be good.”

“I thought he could have dislocated his shoulder,” Collins said. “The hyperextended elbow, I know it hurts, but we’ve got tape. Those things you can take care of it. I know in an emergency, if we need him tomorrow, he’d be available. Right now we’ll just wait to see how he is. But I thought the shoulder was gone, for sure.”

It will be interesting to see what the Mets ultimately do with d’Arnaud. He has grown and matured offensively over the last calendar year, but there’s no question he’s had trouble staying on the field during his professional career. A lot of these problems are impact-type injuries, and while last night’s was probably minor, it’s the third impact injury he’s had in the last four years behind the plate, and it most certainly could have been a lot worse.

If it means they can keep him on the field and healthy on an everyday basis, the Mets might want to consider the possibility of transitioning d’Arnaud out from behind the plate in the near future, or at least start to split his time at another position. It’s not something the organization has seriously considered yet, and probably not something which will happen this season. And, it could unquestionably devalue his bat if they moved him to a corner outfield position, for instance.

But the team has a lot invested in d’Arnaud – they simply cannot afford to have him miss significant time because of these injuries which seem to be happening pretty frequently with the equipment on.