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If the Mets want a reminder of the dangers facing promising catcher Travis d’Arnaud, they need look no further than the horrifying injury to Giants backstop Buster Posey.
On May 25, 2011, San Francisco lost its superstar when he broke his leg in a season-ending home-plate collision. So last year, the team stressed to Posey not to block the plate on plays at home unless forced to.
“I’m hesitant to say it was an entirely new plan. I think it was a re-emphasis of an ongoing plan not to unnecessarily block the plate,” Giants VP of baseball operations Bobby Evans said. “I think our mindset was to protect even the appearance of blocking the plate that could in some ways cause another collision.
“Given his injury and what happened and how important he is to the middle of our batting order, the last thing we want to do is lose him again.”
The last thing the Mets want is to lose d’Arnaud. But over the last few years, the prized 24-year-old backstop has been injured repeatedly. In 2010, d’Arnaud was on Toronto’s minor league disabled list twice with a strained back. In 2011, he suffered a concussion on a backswing and also tore thumb ligaments when he says he caught a ball wrong.
Last year he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his knee breaking up a double play.
So d’Arnaud already has an abundant injury history — with some of those injuries catching-related. After bringing him to the Mets as a part of the R.A. Dickey deal, the organization must decide whether to put safety restrictions on him — for example, instructing him not to block the plate.
“I’d say it’s to be determined,” Mets VP of player development and amateur scouting Paul DePodesta told The Post. “I’m sure those things will come up and we’ll be discussing them, but we haven’t made any of those determinations yet.”
Staying healthy doesn’t guarantee d’Arnaud will become as valuable or productive as Posey, who was last year’s NL MVP and who has helped the Giants to two World Series titles in his three seasons. The year they didn’t win was when he was injured. However, d’Arnaud is extraordinarily important to the Mets. Considering his health history and catching’s inherent safety risks, there can be ways to minimize his injury potential.
In examining some of baseball’s best catchers, many have experienced good health, including St. Louis’ Yadier
Molina (124-plus games the past five years), Baltimore’s Matt Wieters (130-plus the past three) and Atlanta’s Brian McCann (121-plus the past seven). Posey, after being injured in 2011, played in 148 games last year.
A data-driven executive, DePodesta said the Mets have attempted to learn from how other catchers have stayed healthy. But he also cautions two things — each player is different, and catching is dangerous.
“I would say we’ve done some research, but we don’t have the answers,” DePodesta said. “I think we’ll try to be as prudent as we possibly can, but I think there are inherent risks involved no matter how we handle the situation.”
One thing St. Louis has done to try to protect Molina is discouraging blocking the plate.
“We encourage more of a swipe [tag] instead of a block,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said. “[But] a lot of times when there’s collisions at the plate, they might not even be blocking the plate.”
The health of Twins star Joe Mauer has been more sporadic. Mauer played 130-plus games six times in the past eight years but also has six career DL trips. GM Terry Ryan said Minnesota didn’t compromise or restrict Mauer to try to keep him healthy.
“He’s got a lot of instincts, and he knows when and he knows when not to [block the plate],” Ryan said.
Ryan also said he is unsure if he ever has witnessed a bad Mauer collision, praising his skill in that area.
DePodesta said an issue bigger than how aggressive the young catcher plays is the team and player establishing a trusting relationship. The organization wants d’Arnaud to be truthful about when he needs rest.
DePodesta acknowledged some injuries can’t be prevented, but “where we do have a little bit more control is in those I think fatigue-related injuries.”
Because of last season’s injuries, DePodesta said the Mets will be cognizant of not playing d’Arnaud too much in the season’s opening few months. But they have to decide what other safety restrictions they may or may not put on their phenom.
mark.hale@nypost.com