Mets' Francisco Alvarez's hand surgery is 'hard for my mind'
Francisco Alvarez’s pain tolerance could determine how quickly he returns from a fractured hamate bone. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Francisco Alvarez sensed something was wrong when the pinkie and ring fingers on his left hand would not grip the bat the way they are supposed to. On his last swing Saturday, he said, “I felt a pop.”
“I knew something bad happened,” Alvarez said.
The hamate — a tiny bone that connects the hand and wrist — was fractured. He had surgery in Pennsylvania on Sunday and returned to Mets camp by Wednesday morning. Written on his cast were the names of his parents, girlfriend and son and that of his second child due later this season.
The Mets expect Alvarez to be out for six to eight weeks, delaying the start of what he feels will be a big season for him. He also missed almost eight weeks last year with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
“It’s hard for me. Losing time during the season is not good,” Alvarez said. “I’m working the whole offseason to try to be healthy, and that thing happened. It’s hard for my mind. It’s hard for me. But I gotta keep going.”
Alvarez expressed optimism that he would return around the short end of the predicted absence — that would be late April — but acknowledged that it will depend on how his body heals.
The Mets’ doctors told him he could start hitting after three weeks. Part of the rehab process, though, will be tolerating pain in his receiving hand. If he is comfortable enough as his recently broken hand takes a beating catching pitches every night, it might speed up a return.
“It’s on me,” he said. “If my body takes more time than normal, maybe it takes eight weeks. But it’s very on me. If I feel comfortable, if I feel good, I can move quicker.”
Alvarez maintained that the thumb surgery last year did not play a role in his struggles at the plate upon returning.
Might this injury have an impact?
“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Alvarez said. “It’s a quick recovery, so I don’t think I’m going to lose strength in my hand. I’m very strong, too.”
In the meantime, the Mets will roll with backup catcher Luis Torrens getting the bulk of the playing time. They love him for his defensive ability — calling games, framing pitches, throwing out base-stealers — but he has never hit much, including after joining the Mets midseason last year.
He batted .229 with a .665 OPS — notably better against lefthanders — and finished the season in an 0-for-16 stretch in the final four weeks.
Torrens said what the team will miss most about Alvarez is his “infectious personality.” Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated he wasn’t sure where Alvarez will be based — Port St. Lucie or New York — while he is out.
“I’m going to take this as a huge responsibility,” Torrens said through an interpreter this week. “Obviously, this team has high expectations. And I’m going to try to do my job to keep the team playing at a high level.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to be able to go out there each and every day and try to help this team win, to try to keep those expectations high for the team. When he comes back, the plan is to leave this team in a good position.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
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