PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets have proceeded cautiously all spring with Travis d’Arnaud and aren’t about to start rushing him now.
With the catcher still trying to show he’s all the way back from last April’s Tommy John surgery, manager Mickey Callaway said Thursday he and team officials are discussing whether d’Arnaud would be best served starting the season on the injured list.
D’Arnaud caught three innings against the Marlins and will attempt to play back-to-back games in the Grapefruit League on Friday for the first time.
“The one thing we’re always keeping in the back of our mind is this kid hasn’t swung the bat in real games in a year either, so it’s not just the catching we are worried about,” Callaway said. “We want this guy to be the best player he can be when the major league season comes around and not throw him out there if he doesn’t feel he is ready at the plate or throwing the ball.
“We have got to get both of those where we need to get them and it’s going to take a lot of communication with him to see where he’s at.”
Devin Mesoraco and Tomas Nido are the other catchers in camp who could fill the backup role, behind Wilson Ramos.
Mesoraco has an upward-mobility clause in his contract and will know by Friday if he has been claimed by another team willing to place him on its 25-man roster. The Mets would then have to guarantee Mesoraco a spot on their major league roster or lose him.
Steven Matz rebounded from a brutal performance against the Nationals in his previous start to pitch five shutout innings against the Marlins.
“I think his misses were better,” Callaway said. “The other day when he was missing it was more center cut of the plate and they were putting good swings on it and having good results.”
In that previous start against the Nationals, the left-hander allowed four homers over two innings. He has pitched to a 7.47 ERA this spring.
Mets players watched in the clubhouse as Ichiro Suzuki took his final career at-bat, in the Mariners-Athletics game in Tokyo. A collective groan was emitted as Suzuki was barely thrown out at first base on a grounder.
“It’s amazing that you see a guy who plays until he is 45, and not only that his preparation and conditioning was the same until the end, said Robinson Cano, a teammate of Suzuki’s with the Yankees and Mariners.
“You don’t need to be homers and stuff like that, but he got to the big leagues at the age of 28 and was able to get 3,000 [hits]. Guys come up at the age of 19 and they don’t even get close to 3,000.”
Brandon Nimmo blasted two homers — his first two of the exhibition season — in the Mets’ 6-0 victory over the Marlins in Port St. Lucie on Thursday.
Jeff McNeil was removed from the game in the fourth inning because he was sick to his stomach, according to Callaway.
Juan Lagares went hitless in a pinch-hitting appearance and is batting .178 this spring.
Friday’s schedule: Hector Santiago is scheduled to face the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie; Jason Vargas is scheduled to face the Astros in West Palm Beach as part of a split squad.