Kevin Plawecki out 3-4 weeks with broken hand

Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki suffered a broken hand in Wednesday night’s game in Miami, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. The expectation is that he will miss 3-4 weeks with the injury.

Plawecki left the game in the eighth inning after being hit in the hand on a 98 MPH fastball from Tayron Guerrero. After the game, Mets manager Mickey Calloway told reporters that X-rays were negative, but on Friday, a MRI revealed a hairline fracture in his hand. The club have since placed Plawecki on the 10-day DL, and he is the second Mets catcher to go down with an injury this week. Starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud was placed on the DL earlier this week with a UCL tear, which could end his season.

Plawecki entered this season as the backup catcher, but he was going to be relied on heavily when d’Arnaud went down with an injury. Now, he should miss an extended period of time, though the injury will not require surgery.

The Mets only other catcher on the 40-man roster is Tomas Nido, and he has appeared in just six career games. The club is expected to call up catcher Jose Lobaton to presumably become the new backup catcher for the time being.

Still, these injuries could put the Mets in the trade market for a catcher. The team is off to its best start in franchise history with a 10-1 record, but without two catchers, they could look into names such as J.T. Realmuto of the Marlins. However, the Marlins asking price for Realmuto will be steep, and it is unclear whether they would even trade him within the division. For the time being, the Mets will have two unproven catchers unless they explore other options like free agents Carlos Ruiz, Geovany Soto, Derek Norris or Ryan Hanigan.