What resulted was 22 switches between d’Arnaud and Cabrera, and a box score that most like had few precedents in baseball history.
“It definitely feels like we switched that many times,” said d’Arnaud, who started Thursday’s game against the Yankees back behind the plate. Reyes was placed on the disabled list with a left oblique strain, and the Mets called up Matt Reynolds from Class AAA Las Vegas, and he started at third base on Thursday.
The Mets’ plan to hide d’Arnaud Wednesday was far from foolproof. In certain double-play situations, like those with a right-handed batter at the plate, Collins and his coaches had d’Arnaud stay at third because he had never turned a double play.
“We just told Travis that in the case of a double play ball, just make sure you get an out,” Collins said.
Despite the dizzying number of switches, the plan worked for the most part. Cabrera fielded a handful of ground balls at third base when d’Arnaud was at second, and d’Arnaud did not need to turn a double play. In fact, he only handled one ball all night, a pop-up to second base in the ninth inning of the Mets’ loss.
