Travis d’Arnaud last played in a Major League game on April 8 against the Nationals. Nearly a year and a Tommy John surgery later, he made a significant step towards his return to the Bigs as he started his first game behind the dish in Grapefruit League play.
“I was excited going into today,” d’Arnaud told reporters after the game. “A lot of emotions were running. I just thought about the past year and everything. Finally able to start a game again, it felt good. I was glad to get tested a couple of times.”
D’Arnaud went 0-for-3 at the plate and one of his throws trying to nab a base-stealer went into center field. He 4-for-13 this spring with a homer and a double.
The backstop also said that he feels no pain when he throws whatsoever, happily saying that there have been no setbacks or issues as he returns from Tommy John. As d’Arnaud has only caught 21% of potential base-stealers in his career, coming back from the surgery, that statistic will be under great scrutiny going forward.
The 30-year-old is in a battle with Devin Mesoraco to be the backup catcher for the Mets this season behind Wilson Ramos. 
