The New York Mets have managed to get themselves back on track, winning five of their past six games, but one player who hasn't been a part of that turnaround is catcher Francisco Alvarez.
There has been little word on Alvarez since he was sent to the minor leagues on June 22nd, although the team hasn't gotten a ton of production from Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger in his stead.
Since being sent to Syracuse, Alvarez has been hitting well, with four home runs and a .256/.326/.590 slash line in 11 games. But the Mets didn't set a benchmark for Alvarez's return to the majors, noting stats would not be the only factor in that decision. There also appears to be a financial stake in mind for Alvarez to get back to the bigs as soon as possible.
Minor-league stint could delay free agency for Mets’ Francisco Alvarez https://t.co/zYqWdDodJ4
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) July 8, 2025
In a story for The Athletic, Mets' beat reporter Will Sammon breaks down how Alvarez's stint in the minor leagues has impacted his service time. All players need to spend at least six full years in the major leagues to accrue enough service time to reach free agency; this equates to at least 172 days spent either on the active roster or on a rehab assignment from a stint on the injured list.
Francisco Alvarez over his last 8 games for Triple-A Syracuse:
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 9, 2025
.313/.353/.719, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 10 K
Entering the season, Sammon noted that Alvarez had two years and six days of service time, which means he needed to be on the active roster for 166 days this season to accrue a full year of service time. Staying in Syracuse until Saturday would mean Alvarez can only be on the big league roster for a maximum of 165 days, which would keep him from accruing a full year of service time this season.
While this would not impact Alvarez's ability to access salary arbitration, it would delay his potential free agency until after the 2029 season, when he would be 28 years old. This situation could lead to some potential frustration for Alvarez, who has been a good soldier for the Mets since he arrived at the major league level and has done pretty much everything the team has asked of him.
If Alvarez isn't promoted before Saturday, the Mets could look to make up for the service time situation by locking in a long-term deal with him at some point in the future. A contract extension would help both the team by offering cost certainty at the position while allowing Alvarez to cash in a bit earlier than he would in arbitration, making up for some salary he could lose by hitting the open market at 28 as opposed to 27.
As of now, the Mets haven't offered any timetable for a potential return to the majors for Alvarez. Neither Torrens or Senger have done much with the bat in Alvarez's absence; Torrens in particular has struggled greatly, collecting just five hits with 12 strikeouts in 37 at-bats since Alvarez was sent to Syracuse.
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