Mets catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud will not require surgery to fix a broken bone in his left foot, but is expected to miss up to two months, according to manager Terry Collins. Though it’s a setback to the Mets and the highly touted centerpiece of the R.A. Dickey trade, it could have been worse.
“There’s no surgery necessary. He’s in a boot. They want him to do as little as possible for a while, let that mending start,’’ Collins said before the Mets’ 7-1 win over the Nationals last night at Citi Field.
Asked for a ballpark estimate when d’Arnaud might return, Collins replied: “Eight weeks, maybe sooner.’’
The 24-year-old d’Arnaud — acquired from Toronto as part of the deal for the Cy Young Award-winning Dickey — was hit on the foot by a foul tip while catching for Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
The Mets said d’Arnaud suffered a non-displaced fracture of the first metatarsal of the left foot, and yesterday he saw doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan to discern the severity of the injury.
A team spokesman said there was nothing else broken, and the young catcher was sent home and told to avoid weight-bearing for a month.
“Anytime they say it’s 6-to-8 weeks, it could be sooner,’’ Collins said. “It could be four, but even if it is, he’s not going to play for another two or three weeks, so I just said eight.’’
At the time of the injury, d’Arnaud was hitting .250 with five doubles, a homer and eight RBIs in 36 at-bats.
* Zach Wheeler had another rough outing last night for Triple-A Las Vegas.
He allowed just three hits against Sacramento, but coughed up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, thanks to six walks. His ERA is 4.91.