Travis d'Arnaud Already Becoming One of MLB's Elite Catchers

The biggest knock against the New York Mets' Travis d'Arnaud—and it's a doozy—is that he's spent too much time on the disabled list for a guy in just his second full big league season. 

The good news? That's basically the only knock against him.

Since returning from his most recent DL stint on July 31, d'Arnaud has quite simply been one of the best hitting catchers in baseball.

His .865 post-All-Star break OPS is higher than every MLB backstop with at least 100 at-bats not named Buster Posey, and he's cracked eight home runs and 10 doubles in that span.

If you prefer advanced stats, d'Arnaud owns a 140 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), again trailing only Posey, and the seventh-best WAR (2.4) among big league catchers, per FanGraphs. That's not to say d'Arnaud has ascended to the same level as the San Francisco Giants All-Star, former MVP and three-time champion—but he's elbowing his way into the conversation.

In fact, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently ranked d'Arnaud the No. 2 catcher in the game based on current output and potential, behind only—you guessed it—Posey.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Yoenis Cespedes' hot bat grabs all the headlines in Queens and across the country, but d'Arnaud and his scalding stick have also ignited the Mets' second-half surge, which has them sitting 6.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals in the National League East.

"We know he's got big-time power and his confidence right now offensively is off the charts," skipper Terry Collins said of his 26-year-old receiver, per Maria Guardado of NJ Advanced Media. "There's nobody he walks up there that he doesn't think he can hit, and he's dangerous."

D'Arnaud is less polished behind the dish than he is in the batter's box, but he's trending in the right direction there as well.

In 105 games at catcher last season, he allowed a major league-leading 12 passed balls. This year, after 56 games in the squat, he's allowed only one. He's also raised his caught-stealing rate from 19 percent in 2014 to 30 percent this year. And he's the eighth-best pitch framer in the Senior Circuit, according to StatCorner.com.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

D'Arnaud has hit a bit of a skid lately, going hitless in his last five contests. But assuming he stays on the field, he'll be an invaluable asset as the Mets make their first foray into the playoffs since 2006. (And no, the Amazins aren't going to blow this division lead, ignominious history be damned.)

OK, we've teased it enough. This is the part where we discuss d'Arnaud's troubling injury history.

The Mets acquired d'Arnaud, along with right-hander and current rotation cog Noah Syndergaard, in December 2012 in the deal that sent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The young catcher made his MLB debut with New York in 2013 after missing time with a foul ball-induced foot fracture. He began last season as the Mets' starter but went down with a concussion when a bat struck him on the head.

This year, he posted an .892 OPS through April 19 before a hit-by-pitch fractured his right hand and cost him more than six weeks. Then, on June 20, d'Arnaud tweaked his left elbow on a play at the plate and was shelved for another month-plus.

"I've got a tough time going to a player and telling him, 'Quit playing hard,'" Collins said at the time, per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal. "When he gets hurt, it's legit. It's not like this guy's got a bump and he won't take two aspirin to come back the next day."

Taken in isolation, each of d'Arnaud's injuries could be classified under "freakish." They don't necessarily indicate a pattern that's destined to repeat itself. It's possible that d'Arnaud has simply been unlucky and the universe will balance the ledger with a run of good health.

Or not. Sometimes, injuries inexplicably compound. As Andrew M. Cohen of Amazin' Avenue noted, "The skepticism surrounding d'Arnaud's future starts and ends with his constant struggles to stay healthy."

D'Arnaud can ease that skepticism with an ailment-free finish and a return to his hot-swinging ways. Better still if he guides New York and its young, studly starting rotation on a deep postseason run.

If he does, he'll at least temporarily cast aside the biggest knock against him—and continue his rise up the ranks of baseball's catching elite.

All statistics current as of Sept. 21 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.