Mets to place catcher on injured list in crushing blow

The Mets will place catcher Francisco Alvarez on the injured list Tuesday due to his right thumb injury, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. An exact diagnosis isn’t clear just yet, but Alvarez exited Sunday’s game early after injuring his hand on a slide into second base. Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that night that Alvarez was headed for an MRI to evaluate the extent of the injury (link via The Athletic’s Tim Britton).

Losing Alvarez for any period of time is a crushing blow to a flailing Mets club that has come out of the All-Star break with an 11-16 record — including just a 4-11 mark in August. The 23-year-old backstop has been the team’s hottest hitter after a monthlong reset in Triple-A. He’s come to the plate 71 times since being recalled on July 21 and turned in a brilliant .323/.406/.645 batting line (193 wRC+) with four homers, six doubles and a triple.

With Alvarez out for at least the next nine days — his stint can be backdated to Monday — the Mets will have to lean on backup Luis Torrens and rookie Hayden Senger behind the dish. It’s a notable offensive downgrade, with Torrens hitting just .214/.280/.301 in 225 plate appearances this season and Senger carrying a .174/.208/.196 slash in 49 plate appearances as a 28-year-old rookie.

Alvarez missed significant time in 2023 with a thumb injury, though that was due to a ligament tear in his other (left) thumb. He’s also missed time due to a fractured hamate in his left wrist. While it’s perhaps the smallest of silver linings that this latest injury didn’t occur in the same hand that’s already caused him to miss significant action on two separate occasions, his absence will be prominently felt.