This isn’t good news for the New York Mets – catcher Travis d’Arnaud and reliever Jerry Blevins both fractured bones in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Marlins. d’Arnaud fractured his hand after he was plunked by A.J. Ramos, while Blevins fractured his forearm following a line drive back to the mound off the bat of Dee Gordon.
Fractured left forearm for Jerry Blevins. Terrible news.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) April 19, 2015
Travis d'Arnaud fractured right hand
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) April 19, 2015
2015 was Blevins’ first with the Mets after coming over in a spring trade with the Nationals. He’s struck out four in five scoreless, hitless, walkless frames for the NL East leaders, and had a 4.87 ERA (despite a 2.77 FIP) in 57 1/3 innings with Washington last year.
The Mets have gotten good production from their bullpen so far in 2015, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in 34 2/3 innings this season. But they were already shorthanded following closer Jenrry’s Mejia’s 80-game PED suspension, and losing Blevins damages them a bit more. New York has two other left-handers in their bullpen in Sean Gilmartin and Alex Torres, but neither has pitched nearly as well as Blevins in 2015.
d’Arnaud is off to a stellar start in 2015, hitting .317/.356/.537 with two homers through 11 games. He’s been a stabilizing force behind the plate for New York, and losing him for any stretch of time isn’t good news for the club. Their current backup catcher is Anthony Recker, the only other catcher on the team’s 40-man roster.
No players have been recalled by the team yet, though Vic Black and prospect Kevin Plawecki are both expected to be called up. Black had a 2.60 ERA in 34 2/3 innings in the majors last season, striking out 32 and walking 19. The 24-year old Plawecki is one of the top prospects in the Mets organization and split 2014 between AA and AAA, hitting .309/.365/.460 with 11 homers between the two stops.
