The Morning Report 4.21.2015 | Updated Recovery Times, Plawecki Ready to Step In, Hansel Robles the RP, Wright getting Healthy

Mike Vorkunov | NJ Advance Media- Travis d'Arnaud will need at least three weeks to mend before resuming baseball activities. If he heals without issue, in three weeks he could begin baseball activities again. The timetable for recovery for Jerry Blevins is longer. The left-handed reliever has a distal radius fracture of the left arm. He will be in a splint for at least six weeks before he can begin throwing again. Meanwhile, reliever Vic Black was found to have a small right side disk herniation in his neck. The issue has caused triceps muscle weakness for him. After a week of therapy, he will be seen by doctors again.

(Chris Soto: Better than expected news on all 3 injuries. Early estimates had d'Arnaud at 6-8 weeks, Blevins at 3-5 months, and Vic Black pegged for Tommy John Surgery. Shorter recovery times is certainly always welcome news but in d'Arnaud and Blevins cases, you have to wonder what the post-recovery effects are going to be. Hand/Wrist injuries usually mess with a player for much longer than the initial recovery [ala Mark Teixeira])


Howie Kossay | New York Post- Though d’Arnaud likely will be out at least one month, scouts believe Plawecki can immediately contribute, perhaps even pushing the team’s talented rotation to even greater heights. “Plawecki is extremely talented, and I think he could be even better than d’Arnaud,” an NL scout said. “He’s not as ready right now, but with the right nurturing he is going to be really, really good. Without a doubt, he’s a frontline catcher.” Another scout said: “I think he’s going to be fine. He’s always done the job. He’ll hit enough for a catcher. He makes contact. He may be just a bit of an upgrade defensively over d’Arnaud. Guys like to pitch to him.”

(Chris Soto: Kevin Plawecki is no regular replacement catcher. By his own rights, Plawecki is an MLB top prospect, one of the best young catcher at that. There are some members in the organization who believe that Plawecki, not d'Arnaud, is the club's catcher of the future. They love his offensive abilities, his leadership skills, and his game calling. Sure his arm strengeth is barely average and guys can steal on him but, until early on this year, guys were able to steal on d'Arnaud all the time. The eventual decision that needs to be made between d'Arnaud and Plawecki has just entered it's final phase.)


Toby Hyde | Mets Minors- The Mets moved Robles out of the Double-A starting rotation in 2014 and into the bullpen at midseason, and his results have been excellent ever since. As a starter, he ran a fairly pedestrian 4.86 ERA in Double-A with a 9 percent walk rate and 21 percent strikeout rate. However, as a reliever between Double-A and Triple-A he owns a 1.30 ERA in 27 2/3 innings with 34 strikeouts against eight walks, good enough for a strikeout rate of 30.6 percent and a walk rate of 7 percent. As a starter, in Double-A, his fastball was below average — often in the 89-91 range, although he would reach back for more at 93. However, his velocity has jumped in of the bullpen and multiple reports had him working off a 93-96 mph fastball.

(Chris Soto: Robles really came out of nowhere. Despite dominating in the NY-Penn League a few years ago, his stuff just couldn't play up as a starter in the upper levels. However once he was moved to the bullpen, his started gaining velocity and lots of it. In fact Toby may be underselling Robles here.....Scouts in Las Vegas recently had Robles clocking his fastball in at 98mph with regularity. He could have some significant value in the middle innings.)


Lastly.....some more good news.....

Sandy Alderson said David Wright wrote stationary bike yesterday and is on track to return when 15-day DL stint is up. #mets
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) April 21, 2015

Lets Go Mets!