I wanted to update this thread with some new quotes from Travis d’Arnaud, who had some glowing assessments of the young starters in the Mets rotation in an interview he did with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.
“They all have guts,” d’Arnaud said. “They all pitch with their heart. They all pitch with their brain. No one is afraid of anybody. What else would you want from a staff?”
On Noah Syndergaard: “His confidence has really grown, and as a result he is no longer overthrowing his pitches.”
On Matt Harvey: “That comeback was unbelievable. It could have been a career-ending surgery, and he shook it off like nothing and was dominant from his first game.’’
On Jacob deGrom: “It’s not only his electric arm, but he is so even-keeled that he just shakes off everything. He’s like Bartolo [Colon] in that respect.”
D’Arnaud also doubled down on his expectations for the Mets to return to the postseason. “The goal this year is World Series again and this time win it.”
February 5
Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud was one of the first players to arrive to the Mets Spring Training complex in Port St. Lucie, having rented an RV with his brother and their girlfriends to make the cross-country trek from California to Florida right after the New Year.
Since January 11 – more than a month before the reporting date for pitchers and catchers – Travis has been working hard to get himself prepared for what he says will be a very special season.
D’Arnaud, who turns 27 in five days, is hoping this is the year he can put it altogether and avoid the injuries that have plagued him over the last few years. “There’s nothing I could do about the past, so I’m here and my focus is on present. Everyday I go out there with Kevin [Long] and Pat [Roessler] and work hard, set a routine and have fun.”
Expected to get some exposure to first base and left field this Spring, d’Arnaud says he considers it a privilege to be able to handle a rotation that includes Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Bartolo Colon – who he calls a mentor that has so much knowledge to share with him and the staff.
“It’s a total blessing and I’m really honored to be a part of this organization. I think it’s gonna be an unbelievable year,” d’Arnaud told MLB.com. “Last year was so exciting and we shocked the world, and I think this year we’re going to do it again. We all believe in that. It’s going to be a helluva year.”
Although he missed significant time due to yet another freak injury, Travis was shined when he was on the field, producing at a .268/.340/.485 clip with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs in 268 trips to the plate. His .825 OPS, 129 OPS+ and 131 wRC+ clearly gives one pause to consider what kind of gaudy numbers he can produce in 130-135 games this season.
“We know he’s got big-time power and his confidence right now, offensively, is off the charts,” manager Terry Collins told reporters last Fall. “There’s nobody, when he walks up there, that doesn’t think he can hit, and he’s dangerous.”
D’Arnaud is poised for a huge season as he enters his third full year in the majors and the prime years of his career. I truly believe this is the season it all comes together for him. Don’t bet against him.
