If all goes according to plan, Travis d’Arnaud will be back behind the plate for the Mets on Tuesday in Kansas City, after being out since April 25 with a strained rotator cuff, and manager Terry Collins doesn’t sound afraid to make him the everyday catcher once again.
“When he gets back here, I think we’re gonna throw him out there,” Collins said before the Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Braves on Saturday night at Citi Field. “Now, is it gonna be more than four [games] in a row? I doubt it. It may not be four in a row. We’ll just see how he plays. I think he’s ready for anything we put [on] him, except a really extended period of time.”
Whatever it is, the manager already is envisioning the impact d’Arnaud will have on the struggling offense.
“If he swings the bat like he’s capable of, I think he’s gonna be a huge addition,” Collins said.
D’Arnaud was scheduled to play nine innings at catcher for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday night and do the same thing Sunday. So far, he has shown no ill effects from the shoulder injury that has sidelined him.
“They thought his throwing has been better,” Collins said of the Las Vegas staff. “They tell me he’s been catching very well. We’ll wait to see when he gets here.”
They also are hoping his bat helps make up for the absence of other regulars like David Wright and Lucas Duda.
“This guy, when he’s in that lineup, he’s a threat,” Collins said of the injury-prone d’Arnaud. “I think he’s handled our pitching staff well. Hopefully his arm is sound enough, but you put that bat in the middle of our lineup, that changes a lot of things. That makes your lineup pretty deep.”
Jim Henderson left Saturday’s game with an impingement in the front of his shoulder and he figures to be out at least until Tuesday.
“So far, the strength tests are good,” Henderson said after giving up the tying run in the defeat.
He felt the discomfort on a slider, and Collins said he noticed a dip in velocity when he started the seventh inning.
“He’ll probably need some medication,” Collins said.
Zack Wheeler isn’t expected to rejoin the rotation until after the All-Star break, but Collins is already thinking about what his addition will mean, especially since Bartolo Colon has pitched so well in his absence.
Collins said Colon’s continued stellar outings “might” have an impact on what the Mets do when Wheeler comes back from rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
“When that time comes, when Zack Wheeler is ready to become a major league pitcher again, they’ll be a pretty hefty discussion of what’s gonna be best,” Collins said.
Many had presumed Wheeler would slide into Colon’s place in the rotation, but that’s hardly a given, especially since the 43-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his last five starts.
Collins said it is too soon to predict what the plan would be if Colon’s hot streak doesn’t stop and everyone stays healthy.
Wilmer Flores was back in the lineup Saturday after being forced from Thursday’s game when he was hit in the left hand. Flores homered in the loss.