Travis d’Arnaud will have Tommy John surgery, Mets call up Jose Lobaton and Brandon Nimmo, option Jacob Rhame

The New York Mets announced on Friday that catcher Travis d’Arnaud will have Tommy John Surgery to repair a partial UCL tear. The team has placed him on the 60-day disabled list.

Earlier in the day, the Mets announced that they were placing catcher Kevin Plawecki on the 10-day disabled list with a hairline fracture in his right hand, an injury Plawecki sustained in Wednesday’s game against the Miami Marlins. Plawecki is expected to miss 3-4 weeks of action.

To replace d’Arnaud, the Mets purchased the contract of catcher Jose Lobatón, who signed with the team on a minor league in the offseason. Lobatón played for the Washington Nationals during the past four seasons and hit .170/.248/.277 in 141 at-bats in 2017.

The Mets also called up outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who they sent down on Tuesday to make room for Corey Oswalt, and optioned reliever Jacob Rhame to Triple-A Las Vegas. Nimmo had three hits in his nine at-bats for the Mets this season and served as the team’s leadoff man before Michael Conforto returned to the lineup. Rhame posted a 7.36 ERA in three-and-two-thirds innings for the Mets thus far this year.

In 21 minor league at-bats this season for Triple-A Las Vegas, Lobatón collected seven hits. He will presumably split time with Tomás Nido, the 23-year-old who the Mets selected in the eighth round of the 2012 draft. Nido has three hits in 11 career at-bats and ranked 9th on the Amazin’ Avenue list of the team’s top twenty-five prospects.

Tommy John surgery is rare but not unheard of for position players. The Mets could look to Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters to form an idea of how long d’Arnaud’s recovery will take. Wieters previously underwent the operation in 2014 and returned to the lineup 13 months later. Pitchers typically return from Tommy John Surgery after 12-16 months, but recovery time is often shorter for position players.