PORT ST. LUCIE — Another mystery solved by Sherlock Holmes.
That’s what Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud, soon to be 28, is hoping for as he enters the most critical spring training of his career.
Sherlock Holmes is the nickname for new Mets coach Glenn Sherlock. D’Arnaud is quick to point out that fellow catcher Kevin Plawecki gave the moniker to Sherlock when the two worked with the catching guru this winter.
D’Arnaud is convinced his time spent with Sherlock in Scottsdale, Ariz., and in Los Angeles is going to result in a much more successful season for him behind the plate and in throwing out runners.
It was the busiest of offseasons for d’Arnaud, who also spent time working with Mets batting coach Kevin Long in Arizona, rebuilding his setup at the plate.
The dreaded bat-wrap — on which he starts with the bat in front of his head, pointing at the pitcher, and then comes all the way around his body, making it a longer swing — is history and d’Arnaud is expecting more quickness and consistency at the plate. He hit only four home runs and drove in 15 runs in 2016 over 251 at-bats as his OPS dropped from .825 to .629.
Behind the plate, d’Arnaud threw out only 22 percent of runners. Part of the reason was a right shoulder injury, but his mechanics were off, too.
The Mets didn’t acquire another catcher, so they need d’Arnaud to be a force more than ever in 2017. They did acquire Sherlock, who also will be their third-base coach. Building chemistry between Sherlock and d’Arnaud was vital.
“He was a huge help,’’ d’Arnaud said Tuesday at Tradition Field. “For the team to bring him in shows they have my back and they want me to get better. So it’s cool that he is here.’’
Sherlock was hired away from the Diamondbacks, for whom he worked since 1996 — two years before the organization’s first major league game. After Bob Geren left Vdcasino the Mets for the Dodgers following the 2015 season, the Mets didn’t have a coach who could focus on catching mechanics.
That mistake has been corrected.
When d’Arnaud said it has been a busy winter, he was not kidding. He also got engaged to his girlfriend, Britney, and a November wedding is planned.
His original pre-camp plan was to come here after the Super Bowl, but he is so excited by changes he’s made, he came back to his home in Port St. Lucie a little earlier than expected after visiting family in Southern California.
There was a lot of time spent watching video with Sherlock and talking about the philosophies of catching — more video work than he had ever done before.
“It was great, a ton of work,’’ d’Arnaud said. “Sometimes I rush throwing. He showed me a lot of videos where he said I was really, really quick, but in my mind it looked like I was slow. A lot of it is just slow it down and make a clean throw. We hit it off right from the get-go. We started cracking jokes and haven’t stopped since.’’
The two continue to talk and will exchange videos until pitchers and catchers officially report Feb. 13.
As for his new batting setup, d’Arnaud said, “We wanted to eliminate the wrap. We watched a lot of film, too. A lot of the balls I hit well, I thought I was wrapping and I actually wasn’t wrapping. I know now where to start my hands to stay consistent.’’
D’Arnaud has such pure power he can drive a golf ball 330 yards, but bad hitting habits are hard to break. The offseason is the time to rebuild the swing.
Video will be used more by d’Arnaud, offense and defense.
“This will be my first time using it to the full potential that I should have been before,’’ d’Arnaud said. “As long as I stay consistent with all this stuff that me, Kevin and Sherlock Holmes worked on in the offseason.’’
Sherlock also noted that when d’Arnaud threw, his head was too far forward “and I wouldn’t be as balanced,’’ d’Arnaud said.
“You want to keep everything in line and straight and everything smooth and rhythmic.’’
Following this winter of work, it’s all a fresh start for d’Arnaud.
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