Francisco Alvarez addresses how demotion 'changed' him

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Mets' Francisco Alvarez addresses how minor-league demotion 'changed' him

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 9:38 AM ET

The New York Mets recalled catcher Francisco Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse in an attempt to give their lineup a spark following this past weekend.

Alvarez quickly provided the Mets with positive offensive and defensive contributions in the club's come-from-behind 7-5 home win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Following the victory, Alvarez spoke through a translator about how his demotion positively "changed" him.

"I think it helped me become a better player, a better person, a better teammate," Alvarez explained, per Manny Gomez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "And with me being a better teammate and everything, I’m able to go out there and help the team in a better way."

Alvarez routinely struggled at the dish and behind the plate this season before he was demoted to Triple-A. Per Baseball Reference, he slashed .236/.319/.333 with a .652 OPS, three home runs and 11 RBI over his first 35 games of the MLB campaign.

That said, SNY's Steve Gelbs noted that Monday was "the best Alvarez has looked in a long time" with the big-league Mets. The 23-year-old had a key put-out on a steal attempt in the top of the seventh inning.

Francisco Alvarez throws out Zach Neto with help from Francisco Lindor pic.twitter.com/bUwe9p73Nz
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2025

In the bottom half of that frame, Alvarez notched his second walk of the game from an 0-2 count. That proved to be the catalyst for what became a three-run inning for the Mets that tied the contest at 5-5.

Alvarez then delivered a massive double in the bottom of the eighth that led to the Mets scoring a pair of runs.

Francisco Alvarez hits a long double off the wall! pic.twitter.com/RkilSuuNbL
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2025

"It feels good and it’s super important, especially because we got the win," Alvarez added, as shared by Robert Sanchez of SNY. "Had we lost this game, and I would’ve hit that double and I would’ve thrown out the runner, it wouldn’t have felt the same. We’re here for the reason of winning. That’s the most important thing for all of us, and I think that’s why it was so special to have success on both sides."

The 57-44 Mets entered Tuesday trailing only the 57-43 Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East standings. If Alvarez can reclaim the form he enjoyed when he hit 25 home runs as a rookie in 2023, the Mets' lineup could potentially become what many thought it'd be when the club signed outfielder Juan Soto last offseason.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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