Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has resumed swinging a bat and is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. It’d be a remarkably quick return for the 23-year-old, who suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb earlier this month. Manager Carlos Mendoza expressed shock when he was sent video of Alvarez already swinging a bat this past Sunday. “When I was looking at it, I was like, ’There’s no way this guy is swinging the bat,'” said Mendoza.
Alvarez will require surgery after the season, but he’ll gut out the injury to the extent that he’s able to tolerate the pain it causes. DiComo notes that the Mets would prefer to use him behind the plate rather than at designated hitter, where Starling Marte has been swinging a blistering hot bat for the past few weeks, but the team won’t rule out the possibility of Alvarez mixing in at DH.
The mere notion of Alvarez returning in short order seemed outlandish at the time of his IL placement and the revelation that he’d require eventual surgery. However, given the production he’d turned in prior to suffering that injury on a slide into second base, it’s not a surprise that the Mets are looking at an aggressive timetable. Alvarez struggled enough early this season to find himself demoted to Triple-A in late June, but he returned a month later and exploded with a .323/.408/.645 batting line in 71 plate appearances before incurring his ill-timed injury.
Certainly, it’d be a lot to expect Alvarez to replicate or even approximate that level of play. That said, there’s a fairly low bar to clear behind the plate — at least from an offensive standpoint. Luis Torrens is hitting just .221/.282/.324 in 241 plate appearances this season, while rookie Hayden Senger has slashed .172/.210/.190 in his first 63 big league plate appearances.
A quick turnaround for Alvarez isn’t the only aggressive move being pondered by the Mets, who are also reportedly mulling a promotion for touted pitching prospect Jonah Tong. The 2022 seventh-rounder could feasibly join fellow rookie and top pitching prospect Nolan McLean in the rotation down the stretch. The Mets have sustained multiple rotation injuries to their starting staff (Frankie Montas, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill) and are scrambling to hold onto a Wild Card spot in the National League. New York is 15-19 since the All-Star break and just 8-14 in August.
The Mets entered the All-Star break in possession of the second Wild Card spot and just a half game behind the Phillies in the NL East. They’re now six games behind Philadelphia in the division and 3.5 games behind San Diego for the second Wild Card spot. The Mets are still 2.5 games up on the Reds for that final spot, but New York has the slightly tougher schedule the rest of the way — including a pivotal three-game set in Cincinnati from Sept. 5-7. The Mets have just a .431 winning percentage on the road, whereas the Reds have won at a .554 clip at home.
They may be better off with Torrens getting most of the playing time, either way
Hard to see any real basis for that. Okay, so Torrens has been hot for a few games. It still pales in comparison to what Alvarez was doing.
Even with Alvarez injured, Torrens’ is only succeeding in a platoon situation, not full-time role. And who knows if that will even last till the end of Alvarez’ rehab.
That’s crazy.
Phillies fan?
Have to disagree. They’re better off with Alvarez and Torrens sharing the load, with more games going to Alvarez. Torrens has the advantage defensively, Alvarez offensively.
Alvarez has 1.7 bWAR and 1.4 fWAR in only 56 games, and that’s including how bad he was earlier in the year. If healthy, he has the potential to be a 4-5 WAR catcher. I like Torrens a lot (and feel like he’s been very unlucky as a hitter) but Alvarez is clearly better all around.
“When I was looking at it, I was like, ’There’s no way this guy is swinging the bat,’” said Mendoza.
– So, was he actually thinking that or he was thinking in a similar manner?
Not that they are worried about it now but I wonder if it’s best to work him into the lineup next year at DH with a 1b mitt next to him on the bench. The types of injuries with the hands he is going down with can be concerning for a catcher. Always will be susceptible to taking a ball/bat to the hands as long as he is catching. When he is healthy and swinging well I think he has a big enough of a bat to move out from behind the plate. Slot Pete and Alvarez at 1b/DH for the next 3 years. Not a bad scenario.
“but I wonder if it’s best to work him into the lineup next year at DH with a 1b mitt next to him on the bench.”
Eh. They already have Mark Vientos and also, Alvarez’s body type doesn’t really lend itself to playing in the field, even at first base. He’s listed at 5’10” but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was even shorter. He’s also built like a fire hydrant, ha. I think he’ll be catcher/DH his entire career.