New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering a broken hamate bone in his left hand, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters on Sunday. Alvarez will undergo surgery on Monday. Alvarez suffered the injury on a swing during live at-bats, Mendoza said.
The 23-year-old Alvarez isn’t far removed from being one of the top prospects in baseball, and he’s coming off a solid 2024 campaign in which he slashed .237/.307/.403 with 11 home runs in 100 games for the Mets. For his young career, Alvarez has an OPS+ of 99 across parts of three MLB seasons. That’s useful production for a catcher, and he has the potential to produce at a much higher level. Last season, Alvarez missed roughly seven weeks with a torn thumb ligament in that same left hand.
With Alvarez out, the Mets figure to give Luis Torrens primary duty behind the plate. Jakson Reetez, Chris Williams and Hayden Singer, all in camp as NRIs, could be in position to be rostered as Torrens’ backup until Alvarez returns. President of baseball operations David Stearns said Sunday that the team doesn’t “anticipate this being an extremely lengthy injury” and “we feel good about the guys we have in camp.”
The Mets are one of several teams being hit hard by injury this spring. Two key members of the rotation – Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat strain) – are presently sidelined. As well, utility infielder Nick Madrigal is expected to miss the entire 2025 season after suffering a fractured shoulder.
The Mets, coming off a postseason berth in 2024, are angling to contend for the National League East title this season. That’s no easy feat given that the division is also home to the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, but the Mets improved their lot significantly by signing Juan Soto to a record $765 million contract earlier this offseason. The loss of Alvarez, though, is an early blow to those hopes, as the NL East race could be one in which every win or loss is a critical one.
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