August 2023 marks a career milestone for Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud. The 17th of this month will be the 10 year anniversary of d'Arnaud's MLB debut. He took to Instagram on Friday morning to celeebrate this great feat.
d'Arnuad began his major league journey with NL East rivals, the New York Mets. He was the Mets backstop from 2013-2019, putting up conisistent numbers each season.
Throughout his career, he has dealt with numerous injuries. From bruised wrists to Tommy John surgery, Travis d'Arnuad has seen it all.
In 2019, the New York Mets felt that d'Arnuad's performance was declining to a level he could not recover from. In 11 games for the Mets, he had a .083 batting average (2-23) that season. On May 3rd of that year, he was released.
Two days later, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed d'Arnuad as a free agent. He spent a grand total of 5 days in a Dodgers uniform, getting only one at-bat. On May 10th, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.
This felt like Travid d'Arnaud's last chance to prove that he still belonged in the big leagues. Something clicked in Tampa Bay and he revived his career. in 92 games with the Rays, d'Arnaud hit .263 with 16 homeruns and 67 RBIs. Classic Travis d'Arnaud numbers.
After the 2019 season, d'Arnaud elected free agency. It took less than a month for Alex Anthopoulos to swoop in and sign the veteran catcher. Whatever Travis figured out in Tampa Bay came with him to Atlanta.
Since starting with the Braves in 2020, he has been as consistent as ever and then some. d'Arnaud also earned himself an all-star appearance in 2022 when he hit .268 with 18 homeruns and 60 RBIs in 107 games.
Potentially the best advantage Travis d'Arnaud has had in his time with the Braves is the chance to split time behind the plate. Whether it has been William Contreras or now Sean Murphy platooning with d'Arnaud, saving the legs of the 10-year veteran has allowed him to stay healthy and keep performing at a high level.
The Braves have actually resigned Travis d'Arnaud for one more season. It is not often that a guy like Travis d'Arnaud comes around. Him being a former all-star who is more than willing to share playing time simply for the good of the team speaks volumes to the human being he is.
The MLB Player's Association also acknowledged this impressive achievement. Congratulations on a full decade as a big leaguer, Travis d'Arnaud!
A milestone fewer than 10% of Players achieve… @TravisdArnaud7 reflects on just how special this moment is for him.
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) August 4, 2023
Congratulations, Travis, on reaching 10 years of big league service time!@Braves pic.twitter.com/33BbQ81xt7