Mets To Begin Fielding Offers For Deadline Sell-Off
The deadline sale in Queens appears to be underway. Chelsea Janes of SNY and Jon Heyman of The New York Post each report that the 41-57 Mets are informing other teams they’re willing to begin trade conversations on the majority of the roster.
Both reports suggest the Mets aren’t interested in moving Juan Soto or any of their four core young players: Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing. Everyone else appears to be available, though the Mets obviously aren’t going to line up trades for 80% of their roster. Let’s run through some of the possibilities.
Big-Name Infielders On Huge Contracts
Francisco Lindor is signed for $32MM per season through 2031. He finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting each season from 2022-25. He’s not going to come close to that this year, as he’s hitting just .210/.291/.363 across 175 plate appearances. The five-time All-Star has had some unexpected defensive lapses and missed two months with a left calf strain.
The contract, lack of production and Lindor’s age (33 in November) all make him unlikely to move, as owner Steve Cohen acknowledged a few weeks ago in an appearance on The New York Post’s podcast. Lindor also has full no-trade protection as a player with 10-and-5 rights (10 years of service time, the last five of which have come with one team).
Bo Bichette doesn’t have the long-term commitment but is signed for $42MM annually for the 2027-28 seasons. He can opt out after this season or next. Most of Bichette’s 2026 commitments were paid out in the form of a $40MM signing bonus, so he’s only playing on a $2MM salary this year. It’s the future money and opt-out provisions that would prevent another team from taking on that commitment.
[Related: Mets Trade Deadline Outlook]
New York could contemplate some kind of conditional cash considerations for future seasons if Bichette doesn’t opt out. The two-time All-Star has an underwhelming .253/.297/.372 batting line through 417 plate appearances. Bichette has gotten going since the beginning of June. A trade would be complicated by the need to pay down a big portion of the contract for what’d be a middling prospect return, especially if the Mets view a hopefully resurgent Bichette as a key piece of the 2027 roster.
Shorter-Term Trade Chips
While a Lindor or Bichette trade would be a long shot, the Mets have a few other players they easily could — and probably will — move. Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes, A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley headline their group of impending free agents. (Holmes has a $12MM player option that he’s likely to decline.) Luke Weaver is playing on an $8MM salary and signed for next year at $11MM.
Peralta is one of the most obvious trade chips in the game. Extension talks this spring didn’t get far, seemingly due to a holdup on contract length. Peralta is having his worst season since his 2021 breakout, allowing a 4.66 ERA with a career-low 22.3% strikeout rate.
Those are fourth starter numbers, but he’ll still be a prime trade candidate one year removed from a top five finish in Cy Young voting. Peralta’s $8MM salary remains a bargain, and he’d be a lock to decline a qualifying offer if the Mets hold him all season. They’d only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round if he signs elsewhere; they’ll do better than that in a trade within the next three weeks.
Holmes’ situation is more complicated, as he’s unlikely to pitch before the deadline as he rehabs a May fibula fracture. The 33-year-old righty had pitched well over his first nine starts. He’s a more realistic candidate to accept an approximate $23MM qualifying offer for next season if the Mets proposed it. Holmes says he’s open to an extension instead of a trade, and Janes writes that the sides are indeed expected to have those conversations before the August 3 deadline. Holmes’ trade value isn’t going to change over the next few weeks, so they could take the extension talks right up to the deadline before deciding on a course of action.
Minter and Raley are solid rental lefty relievers. The Mets will probably need to eat a portion of Minter’s $11MM salary. He has a 1.42 ERA with 17 strikeouts and only one walk in 19 innings since returning from last year’s lat surgery. Minter’s average fastball speed has dipped to a career-low 92.9 mph and he’s not missing quite as many bats as he did during his best seasons with the Braves. He has plenty of high-leverage experience and is still getting excellent results, though.
Raley is a soft tosser who excels at avoiding hard contact. He’s playing on an affordable $4.75MM contract and owns a 2.02 ERA through 35 2/3 innings. He has fanned a quarter of opponents against a 9.3% walk rate. Even if it’s not the flashiest profile, he’s a clear fit for a contending bullpen and a virtual lock to be moved.
Weaver is the best of New York’s bullpen trade chips. The 32-year-old righty has been their top free agent signing from last winter. Weaver hadn’t allowed an earned run since the end of April until giving up a Trea Turner solo home run tonight. He has fired 40 frames of 2.03 ERA ball while striking out 28% of opponents against a 7.1% walk percentage. He’s getting swinging strikes at a 15% rate and while the Mets have used him in a setup role, he had a bit of closing experience with the Yankees. The extra year under contract gives the Mets a little more leverage, but they’re likely to cash him in at the deadline when trade prices for relievers are highest.
Controllable Trade Candidates
Among this group, it’s most notable that the Mets apparently aren’t completely shutting the door on catcher Francisco Alvarez. He popped two home runs tonight and is up to a .259/.325/.448 line on the season. Alvarez is a clear step below the game’s best catchers, but he’s a well above-average hitter for the position with legitimate plus power. There are more questions defensively, as he’s prone to passed balls and not great at controlling the running game. He did grade very highly as a pitch framer early in his career but has tailed off in that regard over the last two seasons.
The Mets control the 24-year-old backstop for three seasons beyond this one. It’d be a surprise if they moved him, though it seems they’re at least open to the possibility of another team blowing them away. Alvarez has been nicked up a couple times over the last two seasons, missing time with hand injuries last year and meniscus surgery in his right knee this season.
New York could probably get a bigger haul for Alvarez than for any of their other plausible trade candidates. It’d leave them without a clear answer behind the plate in 2027. They don’t have any top catching prospects waiting in the wings. The Mets extended backup catcher Luis Torrens in May, but he’s a defensive specialist who fits best as a complementary player. If they did trade Alvarez, they’d probably need to make a free agent run at Ryan Jeffers, Tyler Stephenson or Carson Kelly in the offseason.
Huascar Brazobán is an under-the-radar bullpen chip. He’s cheaply controllable for three more seasons, but the late bloomer is approaching his 37th birthday. That’s not the kind of player a selling team is going to take off the market. Brazobán has a 2.70 ERA with a league average strikeout rate and 54% grounder percentage across 46 2/3 innings. His below-average command might keep him in middle relief for a contender. The affordability and an excellent sinker-changeup combination should draw attention from other clubs.
Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos have found themselves in rumors for years. They’re all having rough 2026 campaigns. Baty was an above-average regular last season and seems the most desirable of the trio as a change of scenery candidate. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes that the Mets are expected to receive interest in Baty, albeit more as a buy-low type.
Vientos popped 27 homers two seasons ago but hasn’t hit since then and has no defensive value. He’s also out of options. Mauricio will be out of options next year. He’s a former top prospect with big tools but an extremely aggressive approach which big league pitchers have exploited in his scattered looks. He’s a .226/.278/.345 hitter in 104 career games and currently in Triple-A. Mauricio and Vientos might both be fighting to hold spots on a 40-man roster by next spring. They’ll have modest value at best.
Underwater Contracts
It’s no surprise the Mets would be willing to discuss players like Jorge Polanco, Sean Manaea, Luis Robert Jr., Kodai Senga, Devin Williams and Marcus Semien — all of whom are on unappealing contracts. The Mets could find a taker for Williams if they paid some of his $51MM deal down, though that might not be worth it considering they’re already going to need to replace a lot of the aforementioned relievers.
Robert, currently rehabbing from a back injury, could net a lottery ticket type prospect if the Mets eat the remainder of his $20MM salary. Manaea has been alright as a starter, but the Mets would again need to cover most of his $25MM salaries for this year and next. Polanco, Senga and Semien seem pretty close to immovable given their respective contracts and performances/injuries this year.
MLBTR Podcast: Colt Emerson Debuts, Blue Jays’ Rotation Issues, And What To Make Of The Mets And Astros
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Mariners calling up Colt Emerson (3:40)
- The Blue Jays losing José Berríos to surgery and trading Eric Lauer (10:50)
- The Dodgers losing Blake Snell to surgery (17:05)
- The Mets losing Francisco Alvarez to surgery and Clay Holmes to a fibula fracture (21:00)
- The Astros losing Jose Altuve to an oblique strain (31:35)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Which teams have been the biggest positive surprises so far this season? (43:00)
- With the Dodgers having a lot of outfield prospects and trending towards a surplus, do they put together a trade or hold and develop them? (54:10)
Check out our past episodes!
- Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes – listen here
- Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
Francisco Alvarez Undergoes Surgery For Meniscus Tear
May 14: Alvarez had his surgery this morning. The Mets expect his recovery to be on the longer end of the spectrum, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com — likely eight weeks.
May 13, 3:07pm: Alvarez will indeed undergo surgery, manager Carlos Mendoza announced to the Mets beat (link via ESPN’s Jorge Castillo). There won’t be a formal timetable until the procedure is performed. Mendoza is hopeful Alvarez will return in six to eight weeks, but they’ll have more info after his operation.
2:08pm: The Mets announced Wednesday that catcher Francisco Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. Fellow catcher Hayden Senger has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move. He’ll split time behind the dish with Luis Torrens while Alvarez is out.
Alvarez exited yesterday’s game due to knee discomfort and underwent an MRI today, which revealed the tear. The Mets’ announcement indicated only that a “timeline for return to play will be provided when possible.” Given the nature of the injury, Alvarez will be sidelined a good bit longer than 10 days. Meniscus tears almost always require surgery, though the timetable for return depends on the extent of the tearing.
It’s yet another blow for the Mets in a season where virtually nothing has gone their way. New York’s 16-25 record is the fourth-worst mark in Major League Baseball. Alvarez joins Jorge Polanco, Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr., Ronny Mauricio, Jared Young, Kodai Senga and A.J. Minter on the injured list. Lindor, Polanco, Alvarez and Robert were all expected to be key pieces in a reshaped Mets lineup that has looked downright anemic this season — in no small part due to that litany of injuries.
The 24-year-old Alvarez had gotten out to a nice start in what’s already his fifth season with some time logged at the MLB level. He’s hitting .241/.317/.393 — about 5% better than league average, by measure of wRC+ (and about 14% better than the average catcher). During a swing in the sixth inning of yesterday’s game, however, Alvarez grimaced and walked out of the batter’s box, repeatedly flexing his knee (video link). After meeting with a trainer, he departed in the middle of the at-bat.
Once one of the top prospects in baseball, Alvarez has shown flashes of potential to break out as one of the game’s top backstops. He belted 25 homers back in 2023 but did so with a sub-.300 OBP and only a .209 average. In 2025, he slashed .256/.339/.447 but was limited to just 277 plate appearances because of injury. Health has been a frequent issue for the talented young catcher. Beyond this new meniscus tear, he’s also suffered ligament tears in both thumbs and a broken hamate in his his left hand.
Losing Alvarez means turning catching duties over to a pair of light hitters who are better served as backups. The 30-year-old Torrens is a strong defender but just a .226/.287/.351 hitter in his career. He’s batting .208/.255/.292 this season. The Mets somewhat surprisingly inked him to a two-year, $11.5MM extension last month. Senger has only 78 big league plate appearances but has mustered just a .181/.221/.194 slash in that time. His minor league work doesn’t inspire much more confidence. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, he’s a .231/.289/.339 hitter with a 26.9% strikeout rate.
Mets Notes: Baty, Robert, Alvarez, Polanco
The Mets provided reporters with a few updates on players in camp this week, with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com among those to pass them along. Perhaps most notably, Brett Baty had a minor hamstring issue a few weeks ago and will be on a slower progression.
It doesn’t appear there’s any concern with Baty missing the start of the season. There’s still over a month until Opening Day, so there’s lots of time for Baty to get enough reps before the start of the schedule. Baty had a bit of a breakout in 2025, hitting 18 home runs and slashing .254/.313/.435 for a 111 wRC+. He also seemed to establish himself as a viable defender at both third and second base.
Coming into 2026, he doesn’t have a clear position. The Mets acquired Marcus Semien to cover second and signed Bo Bichette to play third. Baty could roam around the field, playing different spots, perhaps even getting into the outfield with the departure of Brandon Nimmo.
For the early part of the season, there’s already a potential change in plans. Shortstop Francisco Lindor recently required hamate surgery. The Mets are hoping he can be back for Opening Day but it’s also possible he lands on the injured list. In that scenario, perhaps Bichette would spend some time at his previous shortstop position, which would open playing time at third for Baty. The Mets could also keep Bichette at third to get reps and put Ronny Mauricio at short. That would leave Baty potentially battling for right field time with Carson Benge, MJ Melendez, Mike Tauchman and others.
DiComo adds that outfielder Luis Robert Jr., Francisco Alvarez and Jorge Polanco will also be slow-played a bit in camp, not playing in the earlier spring games. In Robert’s case, the club wants him to focus on strengthening his lower half. Robert can be a borderline MVP candidate when healthy but injuries have often led to absences and slumps. Many of his injuries have been related to his hips or hamstrings. He has six big league seasons but has only once played more than 110 games.
The past two seasons have seen Robert post subpar offensive numbers around his injuries. Despite that, the Mets took on his $20MM salary, a notable sum for a club paying a 110% tax on payroll additions. They also gave up Luisangel Acuña and Truman Pauley to get him from the White Sox. With that notable investments, the Mets naturally want Robert to be as healthy as possible for the upcoming campaign. His deal has a $20MM club option for 2027 with a $2MM buyout.
As for Polanco and Alvarez, both have notable injury histories. Polanco has been battling knee issues in recent years. He was limited to 118 games in 2024 and had one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. He was back on the field in 2025 and bounced back offensively but was mostly limited to the designated hitter spot through the first half.
The Mets believed in that bounceback enough to give him a two-year, $40MM deal. They will naturally want to monitor his knee health but also may need to strike a balance as Polanco is expected to move to first base, a new position for him, while bouncing to other spots. He and the Mets will want him to get a decent amount of reps during exhibition play, so they will have to weigh that against the desire for load management.
Alvarez has dealt with a left thumb sprain, left hamate fracture and right thumb sprain over the past two years. Those ailments have limited him to 176 games over the past two years. Keeping him healthy for Opening Day is sensible but, as the starting catcher, he will also need to get in work with all the club’s pitchers.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Francisco Alvarez To Undergo Thumb Surgery In Coming Days
Francisco Alvarez has been known to be dealing with an thumb injury over the final six weeks of the season that he was capable of playing through but would eventually require him to go under the knife. That eventuality has now arrived, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relayed today that Alvarez is set to have surgery to repair the UCL in his right thumb “in the coming days.”
An exact timeline for Alvarez’s return to regular baseball activities won’t be known until he undergoes the procedure, but the surgery should not be expected to impact his 2026 campaign. The typical timeline for recovery from the procedure is between six and seven weeks; Mike Trout famously underwent the procedure back in early June of 2017 and was back in the lineup when the Angels returned from the All-Star break. A similar timeline would put Alvarez in line to return to his regular offseason activities before the new year, assuming no setbacks.
Once he’s recovered from the procedure, Alvarez will prepare for a 2026 season where he’ll look to build on a brilliant second-half performance. After scuffling badly throughout the first half of the season, Alvarez was optioned to Triple-A in late June. Since being recalled near the end of July, however, he’s been one of the better hitters in baseball with an incredible .276/.360/.561 slash line. That tear came across a sample size of just 41 games and 139 plate appearances, but the hot stretch still inspires some confidence in the longtime top prospect’s bat after his first two years in the big leagues saw him post results that generally hovered around league average.
Once a consensus top-10 prospect in the sport and still just 23 years old, there’s plenty of reason for optimism about Alvarez’s future even as he receives mixed grades for his work behind the plate and has not yet found consistency with the bat. In both areas, Alvarez has shown flashes of greatness at times, such as his aforementioned hot streak in the second half of this year at the plate and his phenomenal defensive numbers in 108 games behind the plate back in 2023. If the youngster manages to find the consistency necessary to offer even a facsimile of that production over a full season, he’ll be on the shortlist for the very best catchers in baseball.
That would surely be a welcome development for the Mets, who relied on the well-regarded defender Luis Torrens behind the plate when Alvarez was in the minors or injured this year. Strong as Torrens is with the glove, he hit just .226/.284/.345 in 92 games this year. That won’t cut it for a primary catcher, especially for a team that figures to risk losing star slugger Pete Alonso in free agency this winter after his recent announcement that he’ll be opting out of his contract this November. Alvarez figures to be a core piece of the club as they look to get back into the postseason next year, and if all goes well it’s not impossible to imagine him joining Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto as a middle-of-the-order threat for the Mets next year.
Mets Option Kodai Senga
The Mets announced Friday that right-hander Kodai Senga has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Catcher Francisco Alvarez has been reinstated from the injured list. New York also optioned catcher Hayden Senger and activated righty Wander Suero, whom they claimed off waivers yesterday.
Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract stipulated that he needed to consent to being optioned at any point, meaning he gave his approval for the move. It’s obviously a bit surprising at first glance to see a former Rookie of the Year runner-up with a 3.02 ERA optioned to Triple-A, but the Mets have been mulling this move in recent weeks as Senga’s struggles have mounted. He’s pitched to a bleak 6.56 ERA over his past eight starts and lasted only 35 2/3 innings in that time. He’ll bite the bullet and head to the minors as he looks to get back on track before the Mets’ overwhelmingly likely trip to the postseason.
SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the decision to option Senga doesn’t appear to have strained the relationship between player and team. He was included in multiple discussions on the possibility and ultimately “felt respected by the process and consented without issue,” per Martino.
The demotion for Senga coincides with the expected promotion for pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, who’ll reportedly make his major league debut when he starts Sunday’s game against the Reds. He’ll join a youth movement in a rotation that currently includes fellow top prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. That trio of rookies will join David Peterson, Clay Holmes and the also-struggling Sean Manaea as the Mets’ starters for the time being.
Senga has to spend at least 15 days in the minors and can only be recalled sooner if it’s to replace an injured player on the roster. The Mets surely want him to get multiple Triple-A starts to try to get back on track anyhow, but his results in Syracuse will determine whether he’s back to rejoin the rotation in the final week or so of the regular season — and in the playoffs.
While the recent struggles are notable, it bears mentioning that Senga started the 2025 campaign in excellent fashion. Through his first 13 starts, he posted an exceptional 1.47 earned run average, albeit with less-impressive rate stats (23.9% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate) and some more skeptical grades from metrics like SIERA (4.28) and FIP (3.25). A hamstring strain sent Senga to the injured list in mid-June, and while he tossed four shutout innings in his return to the big leagues just under one month later, his struggles began immediately thereafter.
If Senga were still feeling the effects of that hamstring injury, he’d likely have been placed on the injured list rather than optioned. However, it’s possible that he developed some bad mechanical habits while compensating for that injury. He’s displayed uncharacteristically poor command since the All-Star break, walking 13% of his opponents (plus another two plunked batters) and yielding an average of 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched. Prior to his hamstring injury, he’d walked 10.7% of his career opponents and surrendered just 0.81 homers per nine frames.
There are no real service time or salary implications with Senga’s demotion. He’s guaranteed the full freight of that $75MM sum regardless, and his contract stipulates that he become a free agent at its conclusion, even though he’ll have under six years of major league service time. Sending him to Syracuse doesn’t alter his window of control with the team — it merely provides him a lower-stakes environment to try to get back to his All-Star form.
The other side of today’s notable slate of transactions will see the astonishing return of Alvarez. The Mets’ catcher had been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since mid-July but tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding into second base. That injury occurred less than three weeks ago, and his health troubles were compounded when Alvarez suffered a broken pinky finger upon being hit by a pitch on his minor league rehab assignment.
That damaged thumb ligament will require offseason surgery, but Alvarez will remarkably gut out both of those injuries as he tries to help his club down the stretch. Alvarez, like Senga, was optioned to the minors earlier this summer amid some pronounced struggles but returned with a vengeance, hitting .323/.408/.645 in 71 plate appearances before his injury. He went just 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts in 21 plate appearances during his rehab stint, though he did belt a grand slam in his final minor league game prior to today’s activation.
Francisco Alvarez Suffers Finger Fracture, Still Hopes To Return This Year
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was hit by a pitch on his left pinky finger last night. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that the backstop suffered a break in that finger but still hopes to be able to play in the majors later this year.
Alvarez was already in a challenging situation. He suffered a sprain of his right thumb a little over a week ago. Shortly after suffering that injury, it was reported that he will need surgery to correct it at some point. However, the recovery time from that surgery is six to seven weeks, which would carry well into October if he had it now. Alvarez and the Mets decided to delay the procedure until the offseason as he attempts to rest it enough to play through it.
He began that experiment by starting a rehab assignment last night. He doubled in his first plate appearance, grounded out in the second and then was hit by a pitch in the third. He was removed for a pinch runner and it now appears that he suffered a fracture.
Despite the break, Alvarez evidently feels he can get back on the field. Perhaps that is possible but it’s anyone’s guess what kind of production he can muster with a sprained thumb on his right hand and a fractured pinky on the other hand. He could perhaps heal up a bit but there’s only a month left in the regular season.
It perhaps helps that the club has cracked off three straight victories while the Reds have lost three in a row. That gives the Mets a cushion of 4.5 games and greatly increases their chances of making the playoffs. Instead of rushing Alvarez back for a playoff chase, perhaps they can pump the brakes a bit and focus on getting him healthy for the playoffs.
It’s a tough spot but it’s understandable why the Mets and Alvarez are taking this path. He has a .265/.349/.438 batting line and 125 wRC+ this year, despite an early-season slump which got him sent down to the minors for a little while. With him on the shelf, the Mets are left with Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger as their healthy catchers. Torrens is hitting .218/.282/.320 this year while Senger’s line is .180/.227/.197.
The glovework can be debated but Alvarez clearly has the greatest ability to make a difference with his bat. Perhaps the injuries will be too much of an impediment for him to make a short-term impact but there’s little harm in trying. Even if he doesn’t have the thumb surgery until the season is done, he could still be recovered in time to have a normal spring training in preparation for 2026.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Francisco Alvarez To Begin Rehab Assignment
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.
Francisco Alvarez Could Play Through Thumb Injury But Will Require Surgery Eventually
The Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list earlier today with a right thumb UCL sprain, announcing that he will be evaluated again in 10 to 14 days. Manager Carlos Mendoza later provided more information to reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Alvarez will require surgery at some point but the Mets are going to see if he can play through it before going under the knife. If he can’t play through it a few weeks from now, he could be done for the year.
It seems that the Mets and Alvarez are in a weird limbo area due to the calendar. Andy Martino of SNY relays that the typical recovery time for this thumb surgery is six to seven weeks. If he were to have it done now, it would essentially end his season.
The Mets are battling for a playoff spot and will instead see if Alvarez can be a factor for them later in the year. It might not work out but it doesn’t appear there’s a serious downside. Even if the surgery is delayed until the offseason, Alvarez should have time to recover for a normal offseason and be ready for spring training.
Alvarez struggled earlier this year and got optioned down to the minors for a spell. Since coming back up, he has been on a tear. His recent hot streak has brought his season-long line up to .265/.349/.438, which translates to a 126 wRC+.
As Alvarez has been hot, the club has been cold. The Mets have been sliding in the standings and their 66-58 record has them barely hanging onto a playoff spot, just one game up on the Reds. If there’s a chance of getting Alvarez back in the lineup for a few weeks, it’s understandable that they would try, especially when considering the alternatives. Luis Torrens is hitting .214/.280/.301 this year while Hayden Senger has a .174/.208/.196 line.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Mets Place Francisco Alvarez On Injured List
2:45pm: Alvarez is now officially on the IL due to a right thumb sprain with Senger recalled. The Mets say Alvarez will be further evaluated in 10-14 days.
11:13am: The Mets will place catcher Francisco Alvarez on the injured list today due to his right thumb injury, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. An exact diagnosis isn’t clear just yet, but Alvarez exited Sunday’s game early after injuring his hand on a slide into second base. Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that night that Alvarez was headed for an MRI to evaluate the extent of the injury (link via The Athletic’s Tim Britton).
Losing Alvarez for any period of time is a crushing blow to a flailing Mets club that has come out of the All-Star break with an 11-16 record — including just a 4-11 mark in August. The 23-year-old backstop has been the team’s hottest hitter after a monthlong reset in Triple-A. He’s come to the plate 71 times since being recalled on July 21 and turned in a brilliant .323/.406/.645 batting line (193 wRC+) with four homers, six doubles and a triple.
With Alvarez out for at least the next nine days — his stint can be backdated to Monday — the Mets will have to lean on backup Luis Torrens and rookie Hayden Senger behind the dish. It’s a notable offensive downgrade, with Torrens hitting just .214/.280/.301 in 225 plate appearances this season and Senger carrying a .174/.208/.196 slash in 49 plate appearances as a 28-year-old rookie.
Alvarez missed significant time in 2023 with a thumb injury, though that was due to a ligament tear in his other (left) thumb. He’s also missed time due to a fractured hamate in his left wrist. While it’s perhaps the smallest of silver linings that this latest injury didn’t occur in the same hand that’s already caused him to miss significant action on two separate occasions, his absence will be prominently felt.