Injury update means Mets backups have less time to lock down spots

The New York Mets got some good news this week as injured stars Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil are heading to Florida for rehab assignments.

However, this isn't great news for the Mets' active second basemen Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuna, as their time to prove who should remain on the MLB roster is running out. Meanwhile, the catching platoon of Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger has held it down behind the dish.

According to MLB senior reporter Anthony DiComo, Alvarez will play for Single-A St. Lucie on Wednesday. At the same time, McNeil continues to rehab before playing in a minor league game this weekend. McNeil has also been experimenting with the controversial torpedo bats as he looks to return to the form that won him the National League batting title in 2022.

McNeil missed Opening Day due to an oblique strain, while Alvarez underwent surgery to repair a left hamate bone after fracturing it in batting practice. Both were expected to be the regular starters at second base and catcher, respectively, but plans changed during a dynamic spring training in Port St. Lucie. 

Batty slashed .353/.441/.745 in spring training and was given another shot to prove himself in the majors. Alongside him was Acuna, the exciting Mets prospect who contributed late to their run to the NLCS last year. He was added to the Opening Day roster after utility infielder Nick Madrigal went down for the season with a fractured left shoulder. The two have a combined -0.5 WAR through the first 11 games.

Acuna does have a leg up on Baty in the race to stay in the majors. The younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. is able to play across the infield, compared with Baty being limited to just second and third base. Acuna is also much faster than Baty and can be used as a pinch runner in certain scenarios. 

However, Acuna's offensive production is similar to Baty's in that there isn't much happening, with a .158 batting average, compared with Baty's .111 average. 

The opposite is happening with Alvarez's backups. Luis Torrens has a batting average of .300, and Hayden Senger is batting .222. Neither performance is All-Star worthy, but they provide more than Acuna or Baty at the plate. Senger —who was working at Whole Foods before spring training— has even impressed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.