Travis d’Arnaud to Start Saturday

When Sandy Alderson was in the process of shipping R.A. Dickey to Toronto, he insisted that he would acquire a player (or players) who would make an immediate impact on the Mets. Perhaps we have a different definition of “immediate,” but Travis d’Arnaud, the centerpiece of the trade, will finally attempt to make that impact on Saturday with the season more than two-thirds over.

D’Arnaud gets the call because that baby that just refused to come out of John Buck’s wife made his way down the birth canal on Friday. It was a difficult labor for all of us because we couldn’t wait for Buck to be placed on paternity leave so d’Arnaud could make his debut, a debut that should have come on Opening Day had it not been for the Mets cheapness.

Instead Travis d’Arnaud started the season in Las Vegas, where he broke his foot a couple of weeks into the season. D’Arnaud was ready to break camp with the big club after tearing up Spring Training, but the Mets didn’t want to start his arbitration/free agency clock so they sent him to the minors. Of course, they said it was because he needed Triple-A at bats, but he clearly did not.

He is hitting .400 in seven games since rejoining the Sin City ballclub and has apparently convinced the Mets that he is indeed ready. Alderson has suggested that if he plays well over Buck’s three-day leave, d’Arnaud might stay with the team instead of going back to Vegas and being recalled in September.

And why not? Let’s jump-start Travis d’Arnaud’s career. No offense to Buck or Anthony Recker, but they are not the future of the team. The extra two weeks could do wonders for d’Arnaud. It makes no sense to stick him back in the minors.

In any case, we finally get to see on Saturday what all the hype is about.