ST. LOUIS — Travis d’Arnaud has turned the Las Vegas strip into his personal playground, but the Mets are taking it cautiously as they weigh his potential return to the major leagues.
The rookie catcher entered Tuesday batting .394 with five homers and 10 RBIs — his OPS was an off the charts 1.369 — in eight games for Triple-A Las Vegas.
But the Mets have to decide between reality and what could be a Vegas mirage.
“No disrespect to the league, the ballparks, the players that are there,” manager Terry Collins said before the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. “We have seen that at this level there is a fairly good jump, so all you want to hear is about the consistency.
“Not that he went down and had at-bats against clubs where the pitching isn’t as good. Not to allow that to influence our judgment. Let him go down there and get some consistent at-bats, and if he does it every day for 12 days, 13 days, maybe he’s got it going and I think you have a better basis for making the correct decision.”
D’Arnaud was optioned to Las Vegas on June 7 after hitting .180 with three homers and nine RBIs in 39 games for the Mets. There is a strong chance d’Arnaud will return before June 27. Otherwise, the Mets will lose their remaining option on d’Arnaud for next season and wouldn’t be permitted to send him to the minor leagues in 2015 without placing him on waivers.
With d’Arnaud in the minors, Collins has split the catching duties between Anthony Recker and Taylor Teagarden. The latter made an instant splash by hitting a grand slam against the Brewers in his Mets debut on June 10, but was hitting only .125 with a homer and five RBIs as Tuesday’s play began.
The Mets would much prefer to have d’Arnaud behind the plate almost every day, provided he’s ready.
A club source indicated the changes to d’Arnaud’s mechanics have been minimal. The biggest adjustment is d’Arnaud’s back foot has been moved closer to the plate, allowing him to better reach outside pitches.
“He had no approach,” the source said. “He was going up there and changing his approach per pitch. He’s sticking with the same approach now about hitting. He’s focused on driving the ball through the middle. Whatever approach he takes up to the plate against a certain pitcher, he’s sticking with the plan instead of changing the plan throughout his at-bat.”
Because the Pacific Coast League has traditionally been a hitter’s paradise, Collins wants to hear about more than statistics when evaluating d’Arnaud.
To that end, the manager has deployed a scout to Las Vegas who is only present to evaluate d’Arnaud.
“I send in a fresh set of eyes,” Collins said. “Somebody who hasn’t necessarily seen him a lot and can make an independent judgment by walking in. Take a guy who watches major league baseball on a daily basis. Send him in because they know what they are comparing him to. Let them tell me he’s doing the things that have to be done for him to be ready to go offensively up here.”