6:49PM: Mendoza told reporters (including Mike Puma of the New York Post) this evening that the youngster actually suffered a torn ligament in his thumb that will require surgery. Mendoza added that Alvarez’s timetable for return is not year clear but that he’s “confident” that the 22-year-old will return to action at some point this year. Puma adds that Alvarez indicated to teammates that his timeline for return is between six and eight weeks.
1:02PM: “We know for sure it’s going to be more than 10 days” for Alvarez’s recovery, Mendoza told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters. The catcher is still undergoing further testing to check for any ligament damage or further injuries beyond just a sprain.
11:39AM: The Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list due to a left thumb sprain, and selected the contract of catcher Tomas Nido from Triple-A. In another corresponding move, left-hander Kolton Ingram was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Nido. Earlier today, Mike Puma of the New York Post (X link) wrote that Nido was on his way to Los Angeles, as Alvarez was expected to require an IL stint after leaving last night’s 9-4 Mets win over the Dodgers.
In the top of the second inning, Alvarez hit an infield grounder, and Dodgers catcher Will Smith lobbed his throw over the head of first baseman Freddie Freeman. Alvarez made it to second base on the error, but put his left hand on the ground to brace himself after stumbling on the turn around first base. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told SNY and other media that the thumb problem occurred on this play, and Alvarez was replaced behind the plate by Omar Narvaez for the bottom of the second inning. Alvarez underwent an MRI after the game, and Mendoza said the team was “pretty concerned” about the situation.
After hitting .209/.284/.437 with 25 home runs over 423 plate appearances in 2023, Alvarez was looking to follow up his first full MLB season with another step forward this year. The former star prospect has hit only .236/.288/.364 with one homer in 59 PA to date, and it now might be a while before he can improve on that small sample size. We may learn more when Mendoza addresses reporters later today about the severity of the sprain or what kind of a recovery timeline awaits Alvarez.
Narvaez and Nido will handle catching duties in the meantime, and in Nido’s case, the selection of his minor league contract will allow the veteran backstop to take part in his eighth Major League season. Nido’s whole career has been spent in the Mets organization, and he signed a two-year, $3.7MM extension prior to the 2023 campaign.
The catcher is still owed $2.1MM on that deal for this season, and Nido will also reach five full seasons of MLB service time after he amasses 11 more days on an active roster. Once he hits the five-season threshold, Nido will be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, while still retaining whatever is is still owed on that guaranteed salary. When New York designated Nido for assignment and outrighted him last June, he would’ve had to walk away from his salary if he had opted to turn down the outright assignment and become a free agent, which undoubtedly impacted his decision to remain in the organization.
Ingram was claimed off waivers from the Tigers back in February, and the left-hander has struggled badly over four relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse this season. Over just five innings of work, Ingram has already issued six walks and allowed five hits, en route to a 7.20 ERA. While control has been a concern for Ingram for much of his minor league career, this spike (albeit in a small sample size) in walk rate obviously jarred the Mets enough to expose the southpaw to DFA waivers.
It isn’t out of the question that another organization might put in a claim, as Ingram already switched teams twice this offseason via the waiver wire — before going from the Tigers to the Mets, Detroit first claimed Ingram off waivers from the Angels. It was with Los Angeles that Ingram made his MLB debut with 5 1/3 innings in 2023, and he also amassed some solid numbers over his three seasons in the Angels’ farm system. Ingram had a 30.21% strikeout rate in the minors prior to this season, but that number also plummeted to 9.5% in his brief time with Syracuse.
Very tough break. Would expect him out for a while. But something special going on in Queens. Who the heck would have guessed that 2 weeks ago?
“Guessed that 2 weeks ago”..
Where is that “LOL Mets” guy now?..I guess he only shows up when the Mets are on an ice cold streak.
THAT Lol Mets guy? Don’t you mean everyone on this website?
Good thing he is not a bowler…A thumbs up is out of the question
A thumbs up is in poor taste?
I knew theyd be decent, still a good core. I still worry about that starting pitching though. Losing Alvarez hurts.
Check back in another two weeks.
The Sage Fan always says, “Wake me on June 1st.”
Memorial day is always my first checkpoint for the team
Best case scenario, that looked like it had torn ligament written all over it. He’ll be back soon
Just a sprain according to the MRI. And it’s his left hand, so that shouldn’t be too bad going forward.
That left hand is the one he uses to catch 95 MPH pitches. Its a factor.
Nothing like a little wrap and Biofreeze. And other than Diaz, you’re giving that staff too much credit hitting 95mph.
@padam
there are 5 pitchers on the mets this year that averaged 95 or better and 10 that are averaging 94 or better on their fastball.
So far the mets have used 20 overall which if my math is right half the staff including the 2 with the most innings for their respective roles in Severino and Garrett are pretty regularly around 95 with their fast balls there are some hitting that with their sinker too. .
@Roll
Let me correct you. Only three Mets are averaging over 95mph: Severino, Garrett, and Diaz (two of them relievers). They also account for 20% of the work from the entire staff at this point this year.
The others that you may referring to are no longer on the roster and we’re talking about him catching the current staff going forward with the bad thumb, not what he did with a healthy thumb – this wouldn’t even be a conversation.
There’s one starter that’s touching 95mph and 3 that are just around or under 90.
Anyways, doesn’t matter any more now that they announced it is a torn ligament and he’s having surgery. Apparently the report DiComo ran was inaccurate.
@padam
let me correct you …. you said staff which includes all pitchers relievers and starters which guess what catchers catch for both.
This list includes Megill whom is estimated to return this week according to rotowire and Nunez also on 40 man for the over 95, He just had his first option this year about a week ago so you know he will be on the taxi and probably will be Tonkins replacement for next reliever unless someone beats him from the IL.
Speaking of IL I guess i should also have included SRF as he is supposed to be up very soon as well as he started his rehab about a week or two ago and was mid 95+ last year but i havent seen or heard anything about what he is hitting now
The rest of the regular relievers with the exception of ottavino (93) averages 94 or better. so majority of the pitchers on the staff are hitting 95 regularly. So yes all these would be people he would have to catch in a short time frame.
Its only some of the starters on the staff that are below that threshold and they are all averaging 5 innings or a little less per outing.
It will be interesting when Megill comes off the IL if they option him or not. Personally with this being a bit of an older staff i would like a 6 man rotation but with the starters not going that deep (only 3 games out of 20 with finishing the 6th) you need the extra bullpen arm. Maybe piggy back a game to give the relievers a rest.
@ padam Dude, you’re making one of the foolish and pointless argument. It doesn’t matter whether they throw 95 or 92. Its still hard and its still a problem. The operative point is he has to catch it, and catch it 130 times a game. The fact that the injury is to his non-throwing hand still presents an issue. Pain would just be there all the time without subsiding an probably getting worse. And ultimately, it could affect his ability to grip the bat, as well.
Okay now, go ahead. Start another argument over whether he’d really be catching 130 or 140 pitches per game.
I couldn’t tell was the injury on his left hand? Either hand is bad of course.Grip strength issues and pain threshold. Accuracy of throws, getting jammed during at bats if injury is right hand
This didn’t age well at all lol 6-8 weeks isn’t bad, however.
3 months is not soon
…
How many weeks are in a month?
This probably stunts the Mets momentum, but at least nido is back for his 8th season in the big leagues
Well, his 8th season appearing in the league. Still only 5 seasons worth of service time, and fewer than two years worth of at bats.
Alvarez really wasn’t hitting all that well so he hasn’t been a huge part of how the Mets have played lately. However, they will need him going forward and hopefully this is not longer than a 10 day thing.
“Longer than a 10 day thing”…It didn’t look too bad when it happened so I’d be surprised if he was out longer than 2 weeks. Granted, I didn’t graduate from medical school like Dr. Aaron Boone, but it looked like a simple sprained/Jammed thumb situation.
This didn’t age well.
He was great early though when nobody else did much. Hes been a streaky hitter since the minors.
Alvarez’s numbers since May 30th 2023 are BONE CHILLING:
May 30 to Oct 1, 2023 — .187/.268/.392/.660, in 310 PA
2024 — .236/.288/.364/.652, in 59 PA
It’s entirely possible this is who Francisco Alvarez is.
If you’re a glass half empty fan, sure it’s possible.
Valid, however lets not forget he is still only 22.
Alvarez hasn’t contributed at all this year
“all year” lol you know it’s the 3rd week in April, right?
Time for Narvaez to man up and match that hefty salary
He won’t. He’s pretty toasty. A… thick-bodied 32 year old who hasn’t hit since 2021, when he managed to be average, a 101 OPS in a sea of 70 OPS+ or worse since the end of 2019.
The most inexplicable deal for a catcher, at 2/15m, since James McCann’s 4/40m, also from the Mets.
Usually Will Smith’s crappy throws end up getting other Dodgers hurt. Max Muncy’s elbow is the most noteworthy example.
I hate navaez as the main catcher. Fine for a game or two but they going to need him to sit further back or something.
I would catch Nido 75% of the time.
You should get better communication with the pitchers and a better chance to throw out runners. Nido should be very motivated to stay in the majors. His offense could be ok. More contact: Doubles, singles occasional HR. Cautiously optimistic
We would be lucky if Alvarez is back for the last 6 weeks
Big thumbs up
No big loss. Guy isn’t producing at the plate.
Old Dork
Do you typically judge the whole effect a player has on a team based on 50 AB stretches?
No, I said in the offseason that the Mets should cash in on his high because he was overrated. Instead, they hold onto a flailing prospect.
Dopey
He’s 22 years old, hardly a flailing prospect.
Jackstrawb muted me for constantly correcting his overreactions but maybe someone could remind him that Alvarez is 22 and hasnt even had 500 ABs yet
A .658 OPS since May 30th 2023.
You have a point, maybe. Alvarez hasn’t hit .200 since then. His SLG is under .400. At times he seems more enthusiastic than he does smart, and it costs. .
Still, he was what, a 3.0 fWAR catcher in 2023, in 423 PA. A little growth and he’s a 4-5 win guy for the next 5-6 years. Of course, a lot of that 3 fWAR was thanks to his hitting PRIOR to May 30, 2023, so that 4-5 win guy in reality may be just a 1-2 win catcher after all.
@JackStrawb
His Fangraph OFF last season was -4.2, which is below league average. This year, it’s -1.1. Where he’s successful is from the defensive side. He’s a defense-only catcher.
There’s a lot of hype with the fans but under the hood, it’s not exactly screaming superstar.
27 Hrs and 72 RBIs in his first 500 ABs and he’s a “defense first catcher”?
@MetsSchmets
He is a defense first catcher, based on the numbers. But, I wouldn’t be surprised the Mets sign him to a massive extension and end up regressing it.
Alvarez first 496 ABs: 27 Hr, 72 RBI
Johnny Bench first 700 ABs: 16 hr, 88 RBI
Gary Carter first 620 ABs: 18 hr, 74 RBI
Ivan Rodriguez first 742 ABs: 11 hr, 64 RBI
JT Realmuto first 497 ABs: 10 hr, 56 RBI
Wtf are you taking about man?
73 wins, here they come. Funny how he was the prospect all of the short dudes from Staten Island and NJ were counting on.
Are we talking all star break?
This is one of your weirder comments
Hard luck on Alvarez, those that say it didn’t look bad, it did look bad.
As someone that has torn both thumb ligaments it’s a bad injury, not only does he catch hard pitches with it, it is the main part of holding a baseball bat, being his lower hand. Good luck on his recovery, 8-12 weeks.
The Mets caught the Dodgers at a good time, I can’t see the Dodgers being in that ‘form’ when they play the Braves.
As soon as the Mets played the Braves, the Mets started playing well all of a sudden – during that series and onwards thus far.
Must have been a strain from putting on all that eye black
Mets will be fine with Narvaez and Nido handling the staff until the hard working, improving Alvarez comes back. Lots of pitching depth is on the way with McGill and Peterson returning after Senga. With JD debuting within 2 weeks, the near future is looking very bright.
Swapping Baty in for Wendle mostly makes up for Alvarez -> narvaez
@ Seaver rules
Really not sure what makes you think Narvaez and Nido would be “fine”.
BTW, both Megill and Peterson will likely be back before Senga, not after. That said, their returns will be moot points for the Mets because, unless there are other injuries, both will probably wind up in the minors.
That would be even more the case if Senga were to return before them.