Mets provide another much-needed positive update on Francisco Alvarez

The Mets and Alvarez were both hopeful that he would be able to play through the injury and go under the knife in the offseason. It certainly looked like that was possible once he returned to action and was producing again. Alas, he wasn’t out of the woods yet, as he suffered another injury during his rehab assignment.

Alvarez was hit by a pitch in the left hand, fracturing his left pinky. Unable to catch a break, another obstacle was placed in front of him on his route to returning to the big league team. However, this one looks like it will be overcome.

As shared by Alex Smith of SNY, Alvarez is expected to catch for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets on Sunday and could be back with the major league team later this week.

After serving as the designated hitter on Saturday and reporting no issues, the young catcher is taking the next step in his rehab process. The expectation is that he will be behind the plate for anywhere between seven and nine innings. An off-day for the team is scheduled on Monday before another step is determined.

“At this point, nothing is going to surprise me or all of us in here,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s pretty remarkable what he’s doing. So, yeah, we’ll see how it goes today. Pretty sure he’s off tomorrow and then we’ll see what the next day is going to look like. But again, having him catch real games and how he’s going to feel afterwards is the biggest test.”

Pain tolerance will be important for Alvarez: Can he receive the ball properly despite the fractured pinky on his glove hand? Swinging the bat doesn’t seem to be an issue at this point, but his ability to play defense will determine how quickly he is back with the Mets.