The Mets are mulling another change at the catcher’s position, but it’s not because Travis d’Arnaud is close to returning.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets are weighing if it’s best for the team as well as Kevin Plawecki’s long-term future to demote Plawecki and call up veteran Anthony Recker to share the catching duties with Johnny Monell until d’Arnaud returns from his latest stint on the disabled list.
Swapping Plawecki for Recker is hardly a move that will fix the Mets broken offense, but as Sherman noted, this may have a lot more to do with Plawecki’s future than the status of the current team.
In 43 games since being promoted from the minors in late April, Plawecki is hitting .228/.277/.309 with five doubles, two home runs, eight walks and 33 strikeouts in 136 at-bats. While this is far too small a sample size to say that a player is or isn’t going to succeed at this level, it’s fairly evident to me that Plawecki isn’t quite ready for the major leagues, at least right now.
It’s not at all uncommon to see young prospects struggle when they make the jump from the minor leagues to the majors (see: Dilson Herrera), and this can be especially true when it comes to young catchers. Mets fans saw an example of this last year when Travis d’Arnaud got off to a difficult start at the plate in his young career. After his struggles continued to grow into the early summer, the team decided to option d’Arnaud to the minors–not for a short-term fix to help the team, but to help d’Arnaud in the long run.
That’s presumably the thought process with Plawecki here.
Recker isn’t exactly an upgrade, as he hit .143 with two home runs and three RBI in 19 games this season. And despite earning Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors, it wouldn’t be a promoted that’s merit-based for him. The Mets also don’t need another part-time player playing everyday, especially at a premium position.
But the Mets value Plawecki and view him in very high regard. With that said, it might be sensible to get him the seasoning he needs to complete his development, even if it means exposing themselves further without d’Arnaud.
Just Mets 