Mets catcher Omar Narvaez exited Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers early after tweaking his calf.
Now, top prospect Francisco Alvarez is traveling to join the Mets at Citi Field for their home opener and will be on standby in case Narvaez goes on the IL, per Mike Mayer of Metsmerized.
With Alvarez being a possibility to be called up to the major league roster, this could provide a jolt to a Mets lineup that was outscored 26-6 by Milwaukee across three games, in which they were swept.
Alvarez is off to a hot start with Triple-A Syracuse, posting a 1.056 OPS and two home runs in 16 at-bats.
Alvarez is the Mets' No. 1 ranked prospect in their farm system and the No. 2 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline.
The Mets called up Alvarez in the final week of last season, and he hit his first career home run. He also made their NL Wild Card roster, going 0-for-1 in limited action.
Alvarez had a rough showing in Spring Training, as he went just 3-for-28 (.107) in Grapefruit League play.
But he took his demotion in stride.
“The first thing that came to mind [Wednesday] was I need to go back down there and work hard and prove myself so they can call me back up eventually,” Alvarez said through an interpreter.
As for Narvaez, he's unsure if he will undergo imaging on his calf. Narvaez is hitting .286 on this young season.
The Mets' home opener against the Miami Marlins on Thursday got postponed due to expected inclement weather.
The game will be made up on Friday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
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