Francisco Alvarez is trying to figure it out. So are the Mets.
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning in San Francisco on Sunday, April 23, 2023. Credit: AP/Godofredo A. Vásquez
The statistic that best encapsulates the Mets’ catcher conundrum came courtesy of Francisco Alvarez over the weekend.
His home run Sunday in San Francisco, a glimpse of his tantalizing power, was the first extra-base hit from any of the Mets’ backstops this season. In 23 games, 82 at-bats, three catchers and now 13 hits, that was the first that was anything more than a measly single.
Getting any semblance of offense from that position is why Alvarez is in the majors, perhaps before he is ready, while Omar Narvaez is out with a strained calf. But it also has proved difficult for him to put his top tool on display while playing in fewer than half of the Mets’ games — on several occasions just once a series — during his two-plus weeks in the majors. Tomas Nido has received more of the playing time.
General manager Billy Eppler described Alvarez’s status as “not defined” and evolving.
“I can’t tell you that it is something that is set in stone. It’s more of a communication channel between Buck [Showalter] and myself,” Eppler explained to Newsday by phone recently. “It’s still a little early to see these initial games and make a declaration that that is the way it is. Oftentimes, you want guys to walk before they run, so I wouldn’t [view] what you’ve witnessed here as a rule.”
Since Eppler said that, Alvarez already has seen an uptick in playing time — in the smallest of samples — in starting two of four games against the Giants. He was behind the plate for five of 10 games on the road trip.
If you parse these slivers of action, there are signs of progress when he has played more. His home run (but also a bases-loaded double-play ball and a bases-loaded strikeout) came Sunday, his second game in three days. During the previous weekend in Oakland, he hit several pitches hard, albeit all for unlucky outs, when he played for a second day in a row.
Mets officials insisted all offseason and throughout spring training that it is important for Alvarez, 21 years old and the organization’s top prospect, to keep catching regularly. They have been steadfast in the view that they see him as a catcher, not a DH, in the long term. When they sent him to Triple-A Syracuse near the end of spring training, they told him: Be ready to catch a lot.
For all the work he can put in behind the scenes, nothing is better than game action. But lately he has been on the bench frequently.
When Alvarez was called up, Showalter referenced a quarterback getting drafted and sitting for a couple of years, learning by watching and practicing instead of playing.
In the context of what is best for Alvarez’s development, are Eppler and the Mets comfortable with him sitting?
“I would tell you that we are watching Francisco,” Eppler said. “As he’s getting his opportunities and getting his footing, we’ll see the rate at which he progresses and keep on having conversations.”
Alvarez has struggled offensively in the chances he has received, hitting .148 with a .407 OPS. He has struck out in one-third of his at-bats and hasn’t walked at all.
Showalter said recently of his hitting: “Every at-bat, it’s the seventh game of the World Series.”
Nido — always a light-hitting, glove-first option — is batting .122 with a .281 OPS.
Although defense long has been the question on Alvarez, he has ranked in the top quarter of catchers in pitch framing, according to MLB’s statistics measuring that skill. Showalter said he has been impressed by “his engagement in the calling of the games, his advance [preparation] stuff, his ability to retain stuff.”
“He really wants to be an all-around catcher,” Showalter said. “He’s engaged. He has a tough at-bat, he comes in, they’re talking about the first pitch in the sequence for the [first] hitter in the next inning.”
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.
