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Mets confident d’Arnaud can turn things around
- Updated: December 8, 2016
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If the Mets’ offense is to improve from last season, general manager Sandy Alderson said, it is going to have to be from within. The Mets may go the rest of the winter without adding another big league hitter, even on the bench. So much of the burden will fall to those who did not produce this past season.
Chief among that group is catcher Travis d’Arnaud, a former blue-chip prospect who hit just .247 with a .629 OPS in 75 games. Injuries did not help, as d’Arnaud lost nearly two months to a right shoulder sprain. But even when healthy, he simply did not produce, losing playing time to career backup Rene Rivera. That Rivera started the win-or-go-home National League Wild Card Game spoke volumes about how far d’Arnaud had fallen.
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“Everybody, since we got him, talked about his offensive potential,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I think the offense got to be his main focus, and we’ve got to get him back on track on both sides of the ball.”
Rather than abandon d’Arnaud and turn to a pricey free agent such as Matt Wieters or Rays signee Wilson Ramos, the Mets are taking an alternate route this offseason. They hired a new third-base coach, Glenn Sherlock, who …
