The Mets placed everyday catcher Francisco Alvarez on the IL with a thumb sprain, which could impact his availability for the rest of the season.
While the team will have to wait and see if Alvarez will need season-ending surgery, they are prepared to lean on Luis Torrens and recently-recalled backstop Hayden Senger to pick up the slack.
But it won't be easy.
Since returning from his demotion in late July, Alvarez was slashing .323/.408/.645 with four homers, six doubles, one triple, 13 RBI, and 14 runs scored in 71 plate appearances over 21 games. The 23-year-old was hitting his stride offensively, and now Torrens will look to give the Mets some offense out of that spot in the lineup.
It’s been tough for him the last couple of months, especially when Alvy was down, and he got to play every day, but he’s a good player," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Torrens. "He showed it last year when we first acquired him. He was a big part of this team, him and Senger both, when we were winning a lot of games, and we’ll need those guys to step up now."
This season, Torrens is slashing .214/.280/.301 with an OPS of .581, but was solid for the Mets when Alvarez started the year on the IL. He batted .258 with a home run and 10 RBI in 22 games (16 starts) in March/April and .300 in 12 games (10 starts) in split time with Alvarez.
But he has struggled the last three months, hitting .135, .200 and .167.
When asked if there's a way Torrens can improve offensively, Mendoza gave his opinion on what his catcher needs to do.
"Just continue to believe in the work because he’s a good player. Not trying to do too much," he said. "Get good pitches, be aggressive and use the whole field. Again, just being yourself and trying not to do too much."
Senger, who has played in just 21 games this year, is slashing .174/.208/.196 with an OPS of .404. How much production the Mets get from their catcher's spot will be something to monitor as they determine whether Alvarez can or should return before the end of the regular season.
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