The Mets announced today that they’ve optioned Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse and recalled Hayden Senger to take his place on the roster. The young catcher has struggled mightily so far this season, hitting just .236/.319/.333 with only three home runs and 11 RBI, while his OPS sits at a paltry .652.
Alvarez’s season got off to a late start when he suffered a fractured hamate bone in his left hand during spring training, and he didn’t return to the lineup until the end of April. Losing that time in spring did not give him time to practice a swing change he was looking to implement this season after struggling at the plate last year.
Whether it was the swing change or the injury, Alvarez just hasn’t been able to put it together so far this year, and it seemingly all came to a head in Atlanta. His defensive mistake in extra innings played a big part in one of the team’s losses. With both his offense and defense hurting the team, the move has been made ahead of the Mets’ series finale against the Phillies.
Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a home run in the second game of the series, and here’s hoping that he’s starting to figure it out and will be back from Syracuse before long. Veteran Luis Torrens, who is hitting .232/.309/.344, figures to get the bulk of catching duties while Alvarez is in Triple-A.
Hayden Senger has also not hit much in his limited time in the majors, which means the Mets need Alvarez to figure it out in the minors. With several other hitters on the Mets’ active roster struggling, the team is getting very little production out of the bottom of its lineup. But Alvarez is young enough and still has the potential to turn it around, come back to the majors, and be a positive contributor to this team for this season and beyond.