Jun 14, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens (13) reacts after throwing out Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Josh Lowe (not pictured) to end the top of the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Luis Torrens sends strong message about winning Mets starting catcher role

Originally posted on New York Mets on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 8:00 AM ET

On June 22, it was announced that the New York Mets were optioning 23-year-old catcher Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, which means that Luis Torrens will be the Mets' starting catcher for the foreseeable future.

This doesn't necessarily come as a surprise, given that Torrens has outplayed Alvarez by a wide margin this season. While neither guy has managed to make much of an impact with the bat, Torrens has been one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball this season (according to Baseball Savant) while Alvarez has been below average defensively.

Optioning the struggling Francisco Álvarez is a hard decision, but it would’ve been a lot harder if Luis Torrens weren’t playing like one of the best players in all of baseball (!) in limited opportunities this season.

His ranks among all MLB players with 50+ batted ball… pic.twitter.com/JuSEB6LY82
— Mets Analytics (@MetsAnalytics) June 22, 2025

When speaking with the media on June 22, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, "We decided that it was best for him to go down to Triple-A, play every day, work on whether it's the offense, the defense, just in general," when asked what went into sending Alvarez down.

However, the bottom line is that this move was made possible because of what Torrens has shown this season. And in a June 23 article from the New York Post, the 29-year-old backstop got honest about assuming this new full-time starting role for his team.

“I’m going to continue to do my job the way that I’ve been doing it,” Torrens is quoted as saying of assuming the starting role in the article.

Mendoza also added, “Luis has continued to earn playing time," when speaking about Alvarez's demotion in the article.

How Luis Torrens is approaching elevated role as Mets’ everyday catcher https://t.co/pR0GtBwLNZ pic.twitter.com/K5fXzQNp26
— New York Post (@nypost) June 23, 2025

It will be interesting to see how Torrens can further improve his success by being the Mets' everyday man behind the backstop. Perhaps this consistency will lead to more production on the offensive side of things.

This article first appeared on New York Mets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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