Mets injury update: Travis d'Arnaud starts rehab stint tonight

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud will play in his first rehab game tonight for the High-A St. Lucie Mets as he gets closer to returning from a sprained left elbow. The Mets want d'Arnaud to get 25 at-bats in rehab games before his return, which could be as early as next weekend's home stand against the Washington Nationals.

The Mets have been sorely missing their young catcher's bat in the middle of the lineup, as the combination of rookie Kevin Plawecki and veterans Johnny Monell and Anthony Recker has failed to match d'Arnaud's production. Behind the plate, the Mets have not had any kind of consistent period when d'Arnaud has caught the likes of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard.

In an injury-plagued season, d'Arnaud has still only played 19 games, in which he has and .873 OPS with 4 home runs and 17 RBI in just 77 plate appearances. If d'Arnaud can stay on the field with any level of consistency, he looks to be the Mets' future behind the plate, as well as a solid offensive contributor.