Recovering from Tommy John surgery, Travis d’Arnaud has made significant strides in an effort to be ready for Opening Day. He has appeared in Grapefruit League games and seems to be healthy, but health aside, faces competition for playing time behind the dish.
New addition Wilson Ramos will surely be the starting catcher, but after him, d’Arnaud shares a depth chart with Devin Mesoraco and Tomas Nido, who underwent offseason eye surgery to improve his vision. Despite the competition, it seems d’Arnaud will surely be on the Opening Day roster if healthy.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said of d’Arnaud, “He will be on the team if he is healthy, according to a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.”
The oft-injured d’Arnaud is 4-for-8 so far this Spring Training. After playing in 112 games in 2017, he played in just four in 2018 before going under the knife to repair a torn UCL. In 2017 he slashed .244/.293/.443 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs in those 112 games, good for a 92 wRC+ and 0.9 fWAR.
The backstop had throwing issues before his elbow surgery, so it remains to be seen how effective he will be against opposing baserunners going forward. D’Arnaud has caught only 21% of potential base-stealers in his career, allowing seven steals and catching just one in his four 2018 games.
