Travis d’Arnaud Back Tuesday

After making mincemeat of minor league pitching, Travis d’Arnaud is returning to the Mets in time for Tuesday night’s game against the A’s. Hopefully his AAA success can translate to the big leagues.

In 15 games d’Arnaud hit a robust .436 with six home runs and 16 RBIs. It is a sharp contrast to the numbers that got him demoted — .180 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 39 games with the Mets.

“It was all mental,” d’Arnaud told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Just focusing in on every at-bat like it’s my last at-bat. Not thinking about a hundred different things. Just focusing on one thing and keeping a solid approach on each and every pitch. I kind of went away from that… I feel good. I’m in a good place.”

The Mets need Travis d’Arnaud to reach his vaunted potential. They can tout Noah Syndergaard as much as they want, but let’s face it, d’Arnaud was the key piece in the trade for a Cy Young Award winner. And the putrid Mets lineup requires all the help it can get. It does not need the sub-.200 hitter d’Arnaud was before his demotion.