WASHINGTON — Francisco Alvarez needs surgery for a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, but there’s a chance the New York Mets’ slugging catcher can play through the pain and help the team in the final weeks of the regular season, manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday.
Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Monday, when he had an MRI in New York that revealed the sprain.
“If he goes and has surgery right now, he’s going to be done for the season,” Mendoza said. “So he wants to give it a try. We’re hopeful that he can play through this. But we’ve just got to wait and see.”
The big-spending Mets would love to have Alvarez’s powerful bat in the lineup as they try to recover from a slump that began in late July. New York beat Washington 8-1 on Tuesday night to remain 5 1/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East and maintain its edge over Cincinnati for the final wild-card spot.
“We were told that there’s players that have dealt with this and had really good years,” Mendoza said. “So hopefully that’s the case with Alvy.”
Mendoza said it’s a pain tolerance issue, and the injury would be more likely to hinder Alvarez swinging the bat than behind the plate.
“It’s not the receiving hand,” the manager said. “The throwing, we don’t think it’s going to be the issue.”
Alvarez will be reevaluated in 10 to 14 days for a potential return. If he does try to play, he’ll have a minor league rehab assignment first, Mendoza said.
Alvarez was hurt sliding into second base during Sunday night’s victory over Seattle in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He did not travel with the team for the series against the Nationals.
Since his return from a monthlong stint in the minors, Alvarez is batting .323 with four homers and 13 RBI in 21 games. For the season, he’s a .265 hitter with seven homers and 24 RBI in 56 games.
Backup Luis Torrens started Tuesday, and the Mets recalled catcher Hayden Sanger from Triple-A Syracuse. New York also released right-hander Paul Blackburn.