Red-Hot Travis D'Arnaud Expected To Rejoin Mets On Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York Mets are hoping Travis d'Arnaud can bring his hot bat with him when he's called up from Triple-A Las Vegas.
The catcher is expected to rejoin the Mets for Tuesday's series opener against the Oakland A's at Citi Field, the team announced late on Monday.
D'Arnaud's struggles in the lineup led to his demotion on June 8. But he's turned it around during his two-plus weeks in the minors, averaging .436 with six home runs and 16 RBIs.
"Certainly, we don't expect him to hit .500," manager Terry Collins said over the weekend. "But if it helped and it's built up his confidence and he's changed a couple of things, then when he comes back, he'll be a big boost to us."
The Mets could use some pop. Before busting out for 11 runs on Sunday, the offense hadn't plated at least five runs since June 14. And despite a 35-41 record, New York is just 5 1/2 games behind first-place Washington in the NL East.
"Boy, I'll tell you, it changes that one part of the lineup to be that guy down there that can do some damage and drive in a run, because that's what we've been missing," Collins said.
D'Arnaud, the 25-year-old centerpiece in the R.A. Dickey trade with Toronto, is batting .180 in the majors this season.
"If you look at some of the young catchers in baseball, you'll see that several of them — many of them — have struggled early in their careers with the bat and gradually figured it out," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson recently told Newsday.
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