Marc Carig and David Lennon of Newsday are reporting that sources indicate that catcher Kevin Plawecki would most likely be sent back to Triple-A Las Vegas once Travis d’Arnaud returns from the disabled list.
“The internal belief is that Plawecki could still benefit from playing every day in the minor leagues as opposed to splitting time in the majors.”
That said, after last night’s 5-1 win against the Orioles, Terry Collins told reporters that it’s still unclear when d’Arnaud will be ready to come back from a broken finger.
Reports indicate that TDA is progressing very well and Collins said he is scheduled to be examined by doctors on Monday.
The Mets manager views the issue of playing time for both young catchers as a good problem to have and doesn’t rule out keeping both on the roster.
“If you’re looking down the road, it’s hard to say who’s going to get the majority of the playing time.”
In an exclusive interview with MMO’s John Bernhardt in the offseason, GM Sandy Alderson expanded on the possibility of having both Plawecki and d’Arnaud playing together in the future.
“Right now we’re fortunate that we have two catchers who are essentially major league ready — I think Plawecki is close — of such high quality.”
“At the same time, as they sort of both converge on the major leagues, it’s a question of whether both can be accommodated. I think there are circumstances under which that’s possible.”
“For example, sharing the catching duties and then one of them playing first base a little bit or playing in the outfield. Or, during interleague games one of them DHing against left-handed pitching. I think there are ways to do it.”
