Francisco Alvarez 'under consideration' for Mets' NL Wild Card Series roster
Mets' Francisco Alvarez runs to the dugout after the end of the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals in Game Two of an MLB baseball doubleheader at Citi Field on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
One week, five games and 14 plate appearances into his major-league career, 20-year-old Francisco Alvarez is “under consideration” for a spot on the Mets’ NL Wild Card Series roster, manager Buck Showalter said.
Alvarez went 2-for-12 (with a double and a homer) after a very-late-season promotion that made him the youngest player in the majors. He struck out four times and walked twice. But general manager Billy Eppler said the Mets will weigh more than the pure results in making that decision.
“Francisco showed pretty well,” Eppler said. “Taking a little bit more of a process-based approach, what he does in the batter’s box, what kind of decisions he makes. He showed pretty well, and he swings with intent. He’s got bad intentions in the batter’s box, which is OK.”
Personnel news
Alvarez’s fate my be tied to other outstanding roster-related decisions, most of which Eppler was mum on Thursday.
The Mets offered virtually no new information regarding Starling Marte, who has been making a last-ditch effort to prove he could contribute after fracturing his right middle finger a month ago. Eppler said he “can grip things” and did baseball activities, though he declined to specify which.
Showalter said Marte did throw and swing Thursday, as he has tried in recent days to varying degrees of discomfort. He also described Marte as a “multi-skill guy who can help in a lot of ways.”
Eppler declined to discuss the Mets’ thinking in deciding how many pitchers to carry on the 26-man roster, whether they want a fourth starter this round and other items. The Mets have until 10 a.m. Friday to finalize their Wild Card Series roster.
Familiar face
Among those Max Scherzer was readying to face Friday: Juan Soto, his former Nationals teammate and fellow 2019 World Series champion.
“It’s fun. We had that moment where we won together, but baseball does the craziest things and makes you face each other. You gotta face your friends and you gotta go out there and beat them. Those are moments you remember, matchups you remember. Obviously he’s a great hitter. It’s going to take everything out of me, every pitch I got, in order to get him out.”
Extra bases
Neither Darin Ruf (neck strain) nor Marte appeared during the Mets’ on-field workout Thursday evening . . . Asked how he would spend the night before a big game, Scherzer emphasized family time. “I got my girls watching Batman,” he said. “We love Batman right now. So I feel like I’m doing some good dad parenting right now.” . . . Pete Alonso on the Mets not earning a bye to the NLDS despite winning 101 games: “People look at the Atlanta series and they think that was the determining factor. But to be honest with you, we got swept by the Cubs like three weeks prior.” . . . Alonso, before his first postseason game, on the atmosphere and home fans: “I really don’t know what I’m getting into . . . I hope they go buck wild and they’re rowdy and they create an unbelievable home-field advantage for us.”
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.
