JUPITER, Fla. — Travis d’Arnaud hasn’t needed to hear the words of encouragement from the front office, teammates or coaches this spring to know the Mets believe in him.
That message was delivered loud and clear before he even reported to camp.
“In December they tendered me a contract, so right there they showed me they believe in me,” d’Arnaud said Thursday.
This was hours before d’Arnaud settled into the catcher’s box for his first start behind the plate in a Grapefruit League game in his return from last April’s Tommy John surgery. D’Arnaud was 0-for-2 in attempts trying to throw out base stealers and made seven “competitive” throws, which included heaves to the bases between innings.