We’ve had a couple surprise teams come out of the gates hot in the early stages of the 2018 season, and the New York Mets are one of them. With the New York Yankees commanding all the attention, as they usually do, the Mets quietly sit atop the NL East with a 10-1 record, and a three and a half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves, who sit at 7-5. However, new manager Mickey Callaway and the division-leading Mets face their first challenge of the young season; they will have to continue the season without Travis d’€™Arnaud.

Travis d’Arnaud opts for Tommy John surgery

d’Arnaud will be out for the season, and is added to an already crowded disabled list. Relievers Anthony Swarzak and Jason Vargas are on the DL, along with Kevin Plawecki with a broken hand.

Travis d'Arnaud has indeed decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, the Mets announced. He'll miss the rest of the 2018 season.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 13, 2018

d’€™Arnaud, the 29-year-old backstop for the Mets, has been hit with the injury bug once again; this time with a UCL sprain. Mets beat writer, Anthony DiComo, like many, suspected that d’€™Arnaud would need Tommy John after his MRI. And earlier today, d’Arnaud did, in fact, opt to undergo Tommy John surgery. This will be d’Arnaud’€™s seventh injury in his six-year career as he has been riddled with injuries. His last injury was in 2016 when he had a shoulder strain, and prior to that, a hyperextended elbow in 2015. d’Arnaud will finish the season hitting .200/.250/.400 with a .650 OPS in only 16 plate appearances. He finishes 2018 with one home run, three RBI, one BB, and five strikeouts.

With d’Arnaud clearly out for the 2018 season, New York has decided to call up catcher Jose Lobaton, who started the season with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Lobaton will be catching for Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers and batting eighth.

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