John Buck goes on paternity leave, Mets promote Travis d'Arnaud to the majors

After a few weeks of waiting, John Buck found out prior to Friday evening's matchup with the Padres that his wife is ready to go into labor, resulting in the promotion of top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to the big club. With Buck away for three days, d'Arnaud will join the active roster on Saturday and he stands to get plenty of playing time in Buck's absence. Sandy Alderson also mentioned before the game that d'Arnaud has a shot at sticking with the team beyond the time frame of Buck's paternity leave.

Unfortunately, Buck received the news too close to game time for d'Arnaud to be able to get down to San Diego from Las Vegas in time for Friday evening's game. Instead, the youngster will be activated for Saturday's game at which point Buck will officially be placed on paternity leave. Anthony Recker got the start in Friday evening's game in which the Mets are playing without a natural backup catcher. Congratulations go out to Buck on the birth of his child and to d'Arnaud on his big league debut!

Travis d'Arnaud only played in 19 games at Triple-A Las Vegas this season but hit an excellent .304/.487/.554 with 8 doubles and a pair of home runs. He also displayed improved plate discipline, walking 21 times while only striking out 12 times. The 24-year old catcher missed over three months of action after a foul ball broke a bone in his foot while he was behind the plate during an April game.