Would there be a trade market for Travis?

[Guest 41Forever]

We keep reading that catching is seemingly at a premium this off-season. We're talking about non-tendering a viable, though oft-injured catcher. Is there value in tendering d'Arnaud a contract then seeing what we can get for him in a trade? Would there even be a market for him? Maybe an AL team that would use him as a catcher/DH?

[Ceetar]

I mean, they should tender him a contract because he's not completely useless and therefore should be kept. I don't know that catching is actually at a premium, there are at least two solid guys available on the FA market and another via trade.

but d'Arnaud hasn't actually been good since 2015. Perhaps some of his 2017 numbers were bad luck, a .250 BABIP, but he also walked less than average. He did manage a 92 wRC+, which I guess if you figure it was a little bit of luck gets him up to around an average player. His 2016 was really bad though. And last year he basically didn't play at all.

I mean, give him the job in April, hope he stays healthy and proves the bat is viable, and try to flip him then? But if so you might just want to keep him.

I mean, maybe this is where you can try to play #LOLMets to your advantage. convince someone that Lagares and d'Arnaud are getting hurt because of something about the Mets, not because of something about them. Ask their agent to leak an anonymous quote that suggests the Mets did something whacky with them that caused the injury.

Give d'Arnaud 4 million and just keep him. I don't think they're seriously considering non-tendering him though.

[RealityChuck]

At this point, D'Arnaud doesn't have much value. His numbers are less of a factor as the point than his health. It's doubtful he'd be available by opening day, and probably not until midseason. Even if he comes back quickly, he has a history of injuries that would make most teams reluctant to take him on, and they certainly wouldn't give up much for him.

It would make more sense to tender him and hope for the best.

[Ceetar]

RealityChuck wrote: At this point, D'Arnaud doesn't have much value. His numbers are less of a factor as the point than his health. It's doubtful he'd be available by opening day, and probably not until midseason. Even if he comes back quickly, he has a history of injuries that would make most teams reluctant to take him on, and they certainly wouldn't give up much for him. It would make more sense to tender him and hope for the best.

source?

He's expected back for Opening Day, though that might be a bit aggressive.

[smg58]

Either you think he's worth what you're paying him, and you keep him, or you don't, and you non-tender him. Keeping him to trade him strikes me as the worst of both worlds. I'm leaning heavily against keeping him, but if it looks to be too much of a sellers' market for catchers -- and yesterday the Rays traded a desirable centerfielder in a package where the primary return was a catcher I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole -- I might change my mind.

[Centerfield]

Right now, d'Arnaud is one of the two best catchers in the organization.

I think you have to tender him. According to MLB traderumors, the projection is $3.7 million.

https://metsmerizedonline.com/2018/10/mlbtr-2019-mets-arbitration-projections.html/

He's heading in the wrong direction, but can hit a little. If the catcher's market really is that big of a seller's market, I would think you could move him if we signed someone else.

Other projections from MLB Trade Rumors:

Jacob deGrom (4.139) – $12.9MM
Noah Syndergaard (3.149) – $5.9MM
Zack Wheeler (5.098) – $5.3MM
Wilmer Flores (5.003) – $4.7MM
Michael Conforto (3.043) – $4.4MM
Travis d’Arnaud (5.044) – $3.7MM
Steven Matz (3.099) – $3.0MM
Kevin Plawecki (2.167) – $1.3MM