Alvarez ‘mad’ at himself for injury
LOS ANGELES — Francisco Alvarez is in uncharted waters. The Mets’ sophomore catcher is set to have surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament of his left thumb Tuesday in Los Angeles and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks, marking the first time he’s had a major injury that required rehab in-season.
It’s a huge blow to the Mets, but they’ll get by with veteran backstops Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez. Alvarez, however, is having a difficult time with the idea of being out for so long.
“My reaction, it was bad,” Alvarez said of hearing he would need surgery on his injured thumb. “I was mad with myself.”
The 22-year-old Alvarez injured his ankle two years ago in the minor leagues but missed minimal time and continued playing after receiving a cortisone shot. He waited until after the 2022 season to have surgery and was able to rehab during the offseason. It’s an unfamiliar feeling for a young player, but he’s getting encouragement, support and insider information from Brett Baty, who had the same procedure in 2022.
“We were talking about it a little bit the next day and he told me I have to have patience,” Alvarez said Sunday at Dodger Stadium. “[He said] sometimes when I’m when I might start to feel like my thumb hurts a little bit, it’ll be frustrating but it’s normal. The first month can be hard to hit because
I’ll feel the impact, I’ll feel something in my thumb, but it’s normal.”
The Mets’ catching corps has struggled to control the running game this season with Narvaez and Alvarez combining to allow a league-leading 28 stolen bases without throwing out a runner. Nido finally caught a runner stealing Sunday, nailing Will Smith at second base for the third out in the third inning of the Mets’ 10-0 loss.
The home-grown catcher who was designated for assignment last season had a whirlwind of a day trying to get to Los Angeles on Saturday, flying at 6 a.m. from Charlotte, where the Triple-a Syracuse Mets were playing a series, to Atlanta, where he encountered a flight delay. He hit traffic coming to Dodger Stadium but made it in time to get in the game in the later innings.
He caught Jorge Lopez, Edwin Diaz and Reed Garrett, with the zip on their pitches reminding him he was back in the big leagues.
Martinez nearing debut:
The good news is that the Mets have some offensive help coming. The Mets hope to active DH J.D. Martinez on Friday, when they open a series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Martinez returned to the St. Lucie Mets lineup Saturday and went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. He’ll be in the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday and if his back holds up, he’ll head to New York to join the Mets and make his long-awaited debut.