The New York Mets will be without catcher Francisco Alvarez for the time being as they attempt to maintain a hold on a playoff spot. The team announced on Tuesday that they had placed Alvarez on the injured list with a right thumb UCL sprain, just days after he exited Sunday’s contest after hurting himself on a slide.
Here’s a look at the play in question:
In a corresponding move, the Mets brought up fellow catcher Hayden Senger from Triple-A. (Senger was the only other backstop on New York’s 40-player roster who wasn’t already on the big-league squad.)
Alvarez, 23, has hit .265/.349/.438 (125 OPS+) with seven home runs in 56 games. Those numbers understate how well he’s performed since returning from a minor-league demotion in late July. To wit, he’s batted .323/.408/.645 with four home runs and seven other extra-base hits in his last 21 games, all the while providing a much-needed boost to the Mets lineup.
With Alvarez sidelined, the Mets will have no choice but to turn over their catching duties to veteran Luis Torrens and Senger. Torrens has hit for a 68 OPS+ in 75 games to date; Senger, meanwhile, has hit for a 17 OPS+, albeit in a small sample size of 21 games.
The Mets will enter Tuesday’s contest versus the Washington Nationals with a 66-58 record on the year, putting them a game up on the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final playoff spot in the National League. The Mets have lost ground over the past month by going 13-17 in their last 30 games; the Reds, conversely, have won 17 of their last 30.
In an unrelated transaction, the Mets also announced they had released veteran right-hander Paul Blackburn.