Mets should get Francisco Alvarez, Edwin Diaz back soon
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez looks on from the dugout during an MLB game against the Phillies at Citi Field on May 14. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LONDON — Edwin Diaz tossing an inning to Francisco Alvarez during their overlapping rehab assignments with High-A Brooklyn on Sunday was a pretty strong hint about the Mets’ week ahead: Reinforcements are coming.
Alvarez, who has been out since tearing a ligament in his left thumb in mid-April, could return as soon as Tuesday, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Diaz, who dealt with a right shoulder impingement, is due back then or shortly thereafter.
“We’ll see after he comes [Sunday] if [Alvarez] plays another game or two or if he is ready to join the team on Tuesday,” Mendoza said. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to fight [for] that.”
Alvarez’s return will force the Mets into what Mendoza called “a tough decision,” choosing between Tomas Nido and Luis Torrens as the backup. Neither can be optioned to the minors; removing either from the active roster would mean risking losing him to another team.
Torrens has started five of the past six games as the Mets try to figure out if they want to keep him, Mendoza said.
“They’re both really good behind the plate, the way they handle the pitching staff, the way they receive, the way they throw the ball,” Mendoza said. “They’re pretty similar. They both got experience. It’s not going to be an easy one.”
Hello, Bobby Bo
Among those Mets owner Steve Cohen chatted with while making the batting-practice rounds: Bobby Bonilla, who was in attendance in his role with the MLB Players Association.
Bonilla said he and Cohen go way back, having met when they ran in some of the same Greenwich social circles when Bonilla played for the Mets in the 1990s.
“He’s amazing,” Bonilla said. “I’m glad he owns the Mets. They found the right guy . . . He’s big in the financial world. He’s a heavy hitter. He bats fourth in that league.”
What about the so-called Bobby Bonilla Day and the Mets’ annual $1.19 million payment of deferred money? Might they work out a deal to end that tradition?
“We don’t even talk about that,” Bonilla said. “I‘m a big fan of his. I’m cheering him on.”
Extra bases
Jeff McNeil said he really got into cricket while in England for the weekend and expressed interest in attending the T20 Cricket World Cup, partly being held at East Meadow’s Eisenhower Park. “I think I’d be a heck of a cricket player,” he said . . . Cohen blamed bad weather and bad play for the Mets’ home attendance numbers, which are down about 20% compared with last year. He said of the Mets’ season: “The fans have been through worse.”
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.
