As I said earlier, no way D’Arnaud replaces Buck. Centeno heading to airport, will be added to 40 which Mets needed to do anyway for Rule 5.
— Mets Merized Online (@MetsMerized) August 1, 2013
Well, this is…relatively unsurprising. See, a little earlier today, Joe D. wrote this in an update…
According to Adam Rubin, Travis d’Arnaud could join the Mets when John Buck leaves the team to be with his wife for the birth of his child which is expected to happen tomorrow.
I’m not buying this…
Joe D. Prediction: Catcher Juan Centeno, who must be added to the 40 Man Roster will get the call, while D’Arnaud continues to rehab. Centeno must be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this fall.
This made complete sense, because the Mets like Centeno and his top-notch defense at catcher, and considering he’s basically MLB-ready, he was going to see the 40-man soon enough to be protected. The Mets also had an open spot on the roster after releasing Shaun Marcum, so it was no issue to add him to the roster. I couldn’t buy into the TDA stuff from the beginning, but my heart had a flicker of hope…
In any case, Centeno is batting .302/.341/.713 across two levels of baseball, Double-A and Triple-A in 2013. He was never known for his work with the bat — but rather his incredible talent defensively. He could find himself in the back-up catcher role next season. I assume that Recker will get all the starts in Buck’s absence, but it doesn’t hurt to give Centeno a go.
(Photo Credit: Gordon Donovan)
It doesn’t look like he got lots of at bats any particular year, but he’s numbers are mostly good (aside from homer uns), he’s the right age at each level, he plays great D, and hits left handed. Not bad.
Hard to believe he’s a 23 year old 170lb catcher, but maybe that explains the lack of HRs. Anyway, nice looking back-up catcher taken in the 32nd round. Not bad at all.
Many are hoping the Mets bring back Buck to mentor d’Arnaud next year, I’d pass. I think whatever Buck can add in knowledge, can be added by the coaches without taking at-bats away from a kid like Centeno who would serve as a great backup because of his potentially elite defense and left-handed bat. d’Arnaud should be growing with his staff instead of being coached by a phased out player. My other option would be to use d’Arnaud as part of the package to bring in an elite young bat like Stanton, and then go out and sign Brian McCann, a veteran who’s actually an all-star catcher. But that’s probably not happening.
Don’t like picking up aging stars. Catcher is not where they need to add talent.
Was around him a lot in Brooklyn, he’s definitely smaller than 5’9″
He will only be the back up next year. Plawecki should be there by 2015.