Around the Horn: d’Arnaud bounceback key at backstop

With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Port St. Lucie, Fla., by Feb. 12, it’s time to dissect the Mets’ 2016 roster. This is the first of a multipart Around the Horn series taking a position-by-position look at projected starters and backups heading into the season.

Earlier this offseason, a reporter asked Mets general manager Sandy Alderson if he expected the team to improve at catcher. The question’s implication was clear — would New York sign Matt Wieters or another free-agent backstop? Might the Mets dip back into the trade market behind the plate?

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Alderson paused, considered, then answered.

“I expect a significant upgrade in catcher,” Alderson said. “From a performance standpoint, that’s what we expect.”

Alderson’s insinuation is that Travis d’Arnaud — who has never enjoyed a full, healthy big league season — will finally become a rock for the Mets. The front office bet on that to such an extent this offseason that it never pursued Wieters, the top free-agent catcher on the market, or Wilson Ramos, who signed with the Rays. Instead, New York allocated its money elsewhere, relying on the idea of …

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