The Mets look like missing some catching depth on paper. They’ll now put that to the check in actuality with Francisco Alvarez out for the subsequent 6-8 weeks.
Alvarez will be a part of pitchers Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea on the injured record initially of the season with a fractured hamate bone in left hand. It’s a comparatively frequent damage, particularly for catchers, that reveals up as weakened grip energy. Nevertheless, it does require surgical procedure to repair. Alvarez can have a process Monday.
The Mets don’t anticipate to lose the 23-year-old for any longer than two months.
“That’s our expectation, 6-8 weeks back in major league competition,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns advised reporters on Saturday. “He’s a catcher and this is his receiving hand, so realistically we’re probably looking towards the longer end of that 6-8 week range. I think that’s probably where we set our expectations. We don’t anticipate this being an extremely lengthy injury.”
The damage occurred over the weekend when Alvarez was taking reside at-bats. He overhauled his swing over the winter, understanding of a facility in Atlanta for the primary time. In 27 plate appearances, Alvarez has hit .227 with no residence runs or extra-base hits, and a .597 OPS. He’s drawn 5 walks and struck out 11 occasions in Grapefruit League play this 12 months.
Luis Torrens is behind Alvarez on the depth chart, with Jakson Reetz, Chris Williams, Hayden Senger and Kevin Parada behind him. Like Alvarez, Torrens is from Venezuela. Whereas he doesn’t have the identical energy bat as Alvarez, he’s a strong defensive backstop with glorious pop occasions and he’s been having an honest spring coaching on the plate, hitting .300 with two RBI.
Nevertheless, the depth drops off from there. Reetz has performed eight video games within the huge leagues and frolicked with 4 completely different organizations earlier than coming to the Mets on a minor league contract in November.
Williams was signed to a minor league deal as properly. A standout at Clemson, he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins within the eighth spherical in 2018. Now 28, he has but to get a big-league call-up in six minor league seasons. He’s proven some pop with profession minor league OPS of .808 and hit 28 residence runs throughout Double-A and Triple-A in 2022.
Senger and Parada are homegrown, however each of them have struggled to hit as they’ve developed. The Mets carried Senger throughout the postseason final 12 months on the taxi squad, however didn’t use him. Senger is understood for his protection, whereas Parada was drafted primarily for his bat. Parada has been working within the Mets hitting lab to enhance his mechanics on the plate.
The Mets might look to make a commerce.
“It’s a big blow when your starting catcher goes down, but guys will step up,” stated supervisor Carlos Mendoza. “Guys will get opportunities. We feel good with what we have in-house. I’m pretty sure David and the group will be looking for outside [options] as well, as he always does.”
