Angels Sign Veteran Catcher Travis d'Arnaud

Angels Sign Veteran Catcher Travis d’Arnaud

By Chris Gray

Veteran catcher Travis d'Arnaud has had an interesting career before signing a two-year $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday.

Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images

November 12, 2024

The Los Angeles Angels signed veteran free agent catcher Travis d’Arnaud (35) to a two-year, $12 million deal, Tuesday. d’Arnaud spent the past five seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He was a National League All-Star (2021) and won a Silver Slugger Award (2020) with the Braves. Prior to the five seasons with the Braves, d’Arnaud’s career was seemingly on the ropes.

After spending his first five seasons in the majors with the New York Mets, d’Arnaud underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018, missing almost the entire season in the process. His numbers were respectable for a catcher when he played for the Mets, slashing .245/.306/.406 with an OPS of .712 (96 OPS+) and averaging nine homers, 13 doubles, 32 RBI, 30 runs, 22 walks, in 79 games per season. But the Tommy John surgery threw a wrench in his career.

The 2019 season was rough for d’Arnaud. After rehabbing and returning from his 2018 Tommy John surgery in time to make camp, d’Arnaud only appeared in 10 games for the Mets before they designated him for assignment and subsequently released him. His contract was ending after the season and he was underperforming, slashing .087/.160/.087 with an OPS of .247 (-30 OPS+) and two runs, two hits, two RBI, two walks, and he struck out five times in 25 plate appearances.

After Being on the Ropes, d’Arnaud Resurrects Career

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who at the time already had Will Smith and Austin Barnes in the majors, signed d’Arnaud. He made one plate appearance for the Dodgers (groundout to short) before being shipped off yet again. This time the Tampa Bay Rays snagged d’Arnaud and minor leaguer Paulo Orlando from the Dodgers for cash.

d’Arnaud resurrected his career in Tampa Bay, slashing .263/.323/.459 with an OPS of .782 (108 OPS+) and 16 homers, 16 doubles, 50 runs, 67 RBI, and 30 walks in 92 games throughout the remainder of the 2019 season.

d’Arnaud Signs With the Braves

After moving on from the Rays at the end of 2019, d’Arnaud signed with the Braves. In his five seasons with the Braves, d’Arnaud slashed .251/.312/.443 with an OPS of .755 (103 OPS+) and averaged 12 homers, 15 doubles, 41 RBI, 34 runs, and 19 walks in 77 games per season. To put his numbers into perspective, his average per 162 games with the Braves (2020-2024) was 25 homers, 32 doubles, 73 runs, 87 RBI, one stolen base, and 41 walks. His previous average per 162 games with the Mets (2013-2019) was 19 homers, 27 doubles, two triples, 61 runs, 66 RBI, and 45 walks.

But earlier this November, the Braves decided to part ways with d’Arnaud by declining his option for 2025. Their loss may be the Angels’ gain.

Angels Sign Travis d’Arnaud

After five seasons with the Braves, Travis d’Arnaud looks like he’ll spend the next two seasons with the Angels. A southern California native, d’Arnaud attended Lakewood High School before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round (37th overall) of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft. d’Arnaud turns 36 in February and may be looking to finish off his career near where he grew up.

The Angels get a veteran backstop in d’Arnaud. He’s someone who can not only handle the pitchers but can bring clutch hitting as well as valuable knowledge and insight to the lineup and clubhouse.

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Chris Gray

Chris is a writer, philosopher, and web developer. He is currently the Web Developer and a Contributing Editor for Sport Relay.

When Chris was young, he played Little League Baseball for years. In addition, he used to look at the statistics on baseball cards to compare the different players and trade the cards with his friends. As a teenager, he worked as a Computer Technician until he landed a position as a Network Administrator at a middle school in Los Angeles, California.

Feeling unfulfilled with a lack of education to combine with his work and life experience, he returned to school, obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from UCLA, and now spends his time writing, investing, thinking, programming, and enjoying baseball.