PHILADELPHIA — The New York Mets demoted struggling catcher Francisco Alvarez, one of the organization’s most important young players, to Triple A on Sunday, the club announced.
For weeks, club officials weighed the delicacy of such a decision, monitoring the situation for improvement. Sending Alvarez, 23, down to the minors for the first time since spring 2023 may be a blow to his confidence at a time when he needs to build on some. But for the club, the move became necessary.
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There was no clear tipping point for the call. Both Alvarez’s offense and defense led to the demotion. He is capable of better production on both sides, and the Mets want to see improvement.
Alvarez’s demotion allows Luis Torrens to assume a full-time role. Torrens is a standout defender and deserves the job. He handles the pitching staff exceedingly well and deters other teams from stealing bases. His .232/.309/.344 slash line is in line with his career averages. Through April, when Torrens filled in admirably while Alvarez was on the injured list with a broken hamate bone, the veteran backstop delivered a respectable .712 OPS from a position the Mets shouldn’t need much offense from, at least in theory.
With Francisco Alvarez heading to Triple-A Syracuse, Luis Torrens is now the Mets’ full-time catcher. (Harry How / Getty Images)
Hayden Senger, who showed Mets officials and rival evaluators in April that he could be a decent backup catcher, replaced Alvarez on the roster.
The Mets are comfortable with their catching tandem, people familiar with the situation said, and league sources do not anticipate them jumping into the catcher market at this time.
It’s unknown how long Alvarez will stay in the minors. The Mets need him to play every day there and figure things out. They are a better team if Alvarez is playing up to his potential.
Most surprisingly, Alvarez hasn’t hit. More specifically, he hasn’t showcased any power, the tool he was known for ever since the Mets signed him to a large bonus as an international prospect in 2018. In 138 plate appearances this season, he is slashing just .236/.319/.333. He hit a home run on Saturday. It was his third home run this season.
As a 21-year-old rookie in 2023, Alvarez hit 25 home runs. The power may still be there. He hasn’t displayed much of any since then, though.
After Alvarez struggled last season, he decided to overhaul his swing in the winter. He wanted to cover more of the plate and use the entire field. A hamate fracture in spring training derailed Alvarez’s opportunity to work through those changes at a time when the games didn’t mean anything.
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Defensively, Alvarez has shown signs of regression. He has struggled to block balls in the dirt and corral errant pitches. On Saturday, he couldn’t reel in a wild pitch that led to a run.
With the Mets looking like a serious contender, they felt they could not wait longer for Alvarez to attempt to figure things out at the major-league level. It was time to take action.
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
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