New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen touched on two current — for the time being — Mets players from the GM meetings in San Diego on Tuesday.
As per Tim Healey of Newsday, catcher Travis d’Arnaud (elbow) is “on track to be ready for Opening Day” and infielder Wilmer Flores (knee) is “healthy”.
Van Wagenen would not comment on either player’s contract status. Both have been mentioned as potential candidates to be non-tendered by the team this offseason.
D’Arnaud, 29, missed nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on April 16. Through 397 games over six MLB seasons, d’Arnaud has a .245/.306/.406 slash line (96 OPS+), though hasn’t been able to stay on the field due to injuries.
The backstop made $3.475 million in 2018, his second arbitration-eligible season, and could make upward of $7 million in 2019. He is set to hit free agency after next season.
Flores, 27, is in the same contractual scenario as d’Arnaud. He is heading into his final arbitration-eligible season before hitting the open market after 2019. The Venezuelan native made $3.4 million last season and is also due to get a raise.
The fan favorite hit .267/.319/.417 with eleven homers and 51 runs batted in last year. After virtually taking over at first base once Adrian Gonzalez was released in May, Flores also saw sporadic time at second.
Van Wagenen had some nice things to say about Flores on Tuesday, as per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, but remained non-committal on his contract status.
“I think he should be healthy and ready to go, and we will be counting on him,” he said. “He’s had a long track record of performing against left-handed pitching.”
That he has. Flores owns a career line of .265/.309/.471 (113 OPS+) in 573 career plate appearances against southpaws.
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
