Should the Mets trade d'Arnaud?

Travis d'Arnaud's rookie season wasn't exactly mind-blowing, as he hit .202 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in 31 games. Of-course, it would be incredibly unfair to judge a player on 100+ plate appearances, so the idea of trading him does not relate to that. My thought process is: you have to give up something to get something, and d'Arnaud's value is still relatively high. 

Now, the Mets brought in d'Arnaud to fill the huge hole at catcher, so at a quick glance trading him would seem idiotic. However, I'm personally very high on a catching prospect by
the name of Kevin Plawecki, a 22 year old backstop who was chosen by the Mets in the 1st round of the 2012 Amateur Draft. Plawecki finished the 2013 season in Single-A Savannah, where he hit .294 with a .391 on-base percentage. The Purdue University product has a high ceiling, and the Mets will need to make a long-term decision about him. He'll like start the 2014 season in Double-A, and earn a promotion to Triple-A by the summer. While he doesn't possess the power stroke that d'Arnaud has, he is still a solid presence at the plate and an above average defender.

I did like what I saw from d'Arnaud in his first taste of the big leagues, but if the Mets want to make a splash this winter, they are going to need to trade a big named prospect. Whether that is d'Arnaud, Wheeler, Montero, or Syndergaard remains to be seen, but my point being is that d'Arnaud may be more expendable then we think. 

Mets sign Collins to an extension

The Mets have announced that Terry Collins has been extended through the 2015 season, with a team option for 2016. Also, the entire coaching staff will return for the 2014 season. 

"Terry has done an outstanding job for us," Sandy Alderson said. "We're not happy with the win-loss record we had this year, particularly unhappy with the home record. On the other hand, we had a winning record on the road. And, if you look at the last 100 games of the season we played .500 baseball." 

Alderson also went on to say that Collins did a great job managing the team, as they never quit, played hard, and finished well given the limited resources. 

"We're certainly not happy with the win-loss record the last year, or the last three years," Collins said. "We're very excited about 2014. We've got some outstanding young pitching coming, we think that's gonna lead us. We're going into Spring Training with high expectations. It's time to put some wins on the board."

Collins has a combined record of 225-261 (.463 W-L%) in three seasons with the Mets. 

Many Mets fans like myself are disappointed that this is the direction the team is going with Collins. Granted, Alderson didn't exactly give out the cream of the crop in terms of players, but Collins still made some questionable moves throughout his three years here. The one that stands out the most for me is his tendency to ruin bullpen arms, specifically lefties. Pedro Feliciano, Tim Byrdak, and Scott Rice were all overworked and forced to go under the knife and miss a bulk of time. 

In the big picture, Collins isn't a problem for this team. At the end of the day it's about wins and losses, and right now Alderson is not putting a good product on the field, and it would be unfair to expect Collins to take this squad to glory. Now, with the right players, Collins and his team could surprise people in 2014. If 2014 is a bust, look for him to be on the hot seat despite being under team control for another season.