MIAMI _ The Mets have suffered their first major injury of the season. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow.
D'Arnaud landed on the disabled list Wednesday after an MRI revealed the tear, and the team said it will decide in the next few days whether d'Arnaud will need surgery to repair it. The Mets called up prospect Tomas Nido from Double-A Binghamton to replace him.
Tommy John surgery is the most common way to treat torn UCLs. More common among pitchers, the surgery would almost certainly cost d'Arnaud the season. Among other catchers who have had the operation, Boston's Christian Vazquez missed a little more than a year and Washington's Matt Wieters missed a little less than a year.
D'Arnaud had been splitting time behind the plate with Kevin Plawecki, posting a .200/.250/.400 slash line in four games. He had also struggled defensively, including catching just one of seven attempted base-stealers. The Nationals stole five bases against him Saturday.
This opens the door for Plawecki, who entered Wednesday with one hit in five games since Opening Day, to be the full-time starter.
Nido, who turns 24 Thursday, had a .278/.350/.389 slash line in five games for Binghamton this month, a small-sample-size improvement over his .232/.287/.354 line in Double-A last season.
The Mets called up Nido for the first time last September when he played in five games.
