Star Mets prospect Francisco Alvarez is undergoing evaluation on a sore right ankle, SNY’s Andy Martino reports (Twitter link). As per other Peter Botte and Mike Puma of the New York Post, the injury isn’t thought to be too severe, though simply given the calendar, there is a possibility that the Mets could shut Alvarez down for what remains of the 2022 season. More will be known in a few days’ time, after Alvarez has been more fully tested.
One of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball, there has been speculation that the 20-year-old Alvarez might receive a call-up to the majors this season, as the Mets haven’t gotten much from the catching position. However, even before his ankle injury surfaced, Alvarez wasn’t off to a great start in his first taste of Triple-A action, batting only .180/.340/.378 in 141 plate appearances. It certainly isn’t the ideal platform to launch a young player into making his MLB debut in the thick of a pennant race, and naturally the Mets want to be as careful as possible with the development of a possible cornerstone player of the future.
Other updates from around the NL East…
- The Nationals shifted Yadiel Hernandez to the 60-day injured list on Saturday, officially ending the outfielder’s season. (In a corresponding move, Washington reinstated left-hander Seth Romero from the 60-day IL and assigned him to Double-A.) Hernandez was retroactively placed on the 10-day IL on August 19 due to a left calf strain, and his third MLB season saw the 34-year-old hit .269/.312/.410 with nine homers over 327 plate appearances. Hernandez has spent much of his Nats tenure as the left-handed hitting side of an outfield platoon, posting roughly league-average offense since the start of the 2021 campaign. He is under team control through 2026, but given his age and the Nationals’ rebuild, it is possible the team might consider moving onto a younger option for next season.
- Sixto Sanchez’s continued shoulder inflammation will result in a cortisone shot on Monday, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Sanchez made his MLB debut with 39 innings in 2020, but hasn’t since pitched at any level due to shoulder problems, which included surgery in July 2021. It is becoming increasingly unlikely that Sanchez will get any game action in the majors or minors before 2022 is out, making it another lost year for the Marlins right-hander.
Sixto is probably 86’d
That would be Smart.
That Realmuto trade was a steal in retrospect.
Almost as good as the “5 for 1” trade…;-)
Von Hayes was under appreciated, but 5 for 1 is never a great idea.
it’s a bummer for all of baseball to seemingly lose sixto. 2 lost seasons now and he’s never likely to be the very exciting young flamethrower we saw in ’20
Agreed. It’s another disappointing reminder that big hype prospects so rarely work out.
Sixto had shoulder problems when in the Phillies minor league system. The Marlins gambled, and lost big!!
Maybe for him, but it’s not a big deal in the scheme of things. There are plenty of young players to take his place. Attributing it to “all of baseball” is a hackneyed cliche.
*before it was announced
This isnt surprising
Alvarez BB% is much higher in AAA than AA. He’s probably focusing in on improving chase rate
The avg is irrelevant. He could hit for more average and more HR if he wanted to
Mets are preaching Chase Rate these days
And it seems to be working. They don’t have an intimidating lineup like some other teams do, but up there nonetheless.
And they’re running up opponents’ pitch counts by lowering that chase rate. Get into the other team’s bullpen, which in turn, burns those arms as well.
Also, his BABIP is near .200 in AAA Probably due for some + positive regression.
Yadiel was somewhat of a bright spot for the Nats. Only somewhat.