Travis d’Arnaud was in the middle of talking about being happy to still be a Met, with Jonathan Lucroy seemingly on his way from Milwaukee to Cleveland, when news broke that Lucroy had used his no-trade clause to veto the move on Sunday.
And just like that, d’Arnaud was still on the market, with the Mets looking to upgrade their offense and Lucroy once again available.
When told of the change, d’Arnaud said: “I can’t control it, so I just focus on the moment and focus on trying to win today.”
The Mets had made an offer of d’Arnaud, Brandon Nimmo and another prospect in exchange for Lucroy, who won’t be a free agent until after next season. It appeared on Saturday that they had been beaten out by the Indians, who are in need of a catcher thanks to Yan Gomes’ separated shoulder.
But Lucroy reportedly balked at the move because with Gomes coming back next season, he didn’t want to split time in the final year of his contract.
The Mets also continue to monitor the market for Cincinnati outfielder Jay Bruce as they look for a remedy for their dormant offense.
D’Arnaud has been one of the culprits for why the lineup has been disappointing for much of the season.
Still, he was hopeful both he and the team could right themselves.
“I’m glad to still be here and I’m looking forward to being here,’’ d’Arnaud said. “Hopefully we go on a run like we did last year.”
And he was trying not to pay attention to trade possibilities.
“I figured if I thought about it, it would probably tear me up a little bit,” said d’Arnaud, who credited veterans like Curtis Granderson, David Wright and Jerry Blevins with checking in on him regularly throughout the process.
And with Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline still looming, d’Arnaud wasn’t looking too far ahead.
“The results aren’t what I wanted them to be,’’ d’Arnaud said. “I still have things to work on. We’ve got 60 games left and we all saw last year anything’s possible.”