Mets believe Francisco Alvarez's tune-up will shift career into overdrive
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez during a spring training workout on Tuesday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets catching coach J.P. Arencibia likens Francisco Alvarez to a Ferrari, a palm tree, a boxer and a Rolls-Royce. The analogies all make sense when he explains Alvarez’s natural gifts, the habits that almost felled him last season and what allowed him to return to being himself.
But when it comes down to evaluating Alvarez’s potential this season, Arencibia strips it down to its core.
“I think it’s going to be unbelievable,” he told Newsday on Friday at Clover Park. “I think he’s going to have an unbelievable year — like, I think one of the best catchers in the league is what he could be.”
Alvarez certainly has put in the work. He lost eight to 10 pounds in the offseason, primarily focusing on his nutrition, he told Newsday. He’s back to the batting stance he re-adopted in the second half of last year, which was far more successful than the changes he tried to implement during the first few months of the season — something that partially led the Mets to demote him to Triple-A in June.
“I just want to improve in everything,” Alvarez said Friday. “I don’t want to focus on one part. I want to focus on everything . . . When I went down to Triple-A, they helped me — J.P., the catching coach, even the manager. Everyone helped me with different things, even the hitting.”
Most everyone is aware of Alvarez’s potential: He hit 25 homers his rookie year, and though he’s a bat-first catcher, he showcased above-average framing skills and pop time in 2024.
But most of 2025 was a nightmare. The changed batting stance tanked his offense. His blocking improved, but his framing went from the 84th percentile in 2024 to the 16th percentile a year later. His pop time slowed. And all of it landed him in Triple-A Syracuse, where Arencibia, a former Blue Jays catcher, served as bench coach.
When Alvarez went to Syracuse, he was hitting .236 with three homers in 35 games. In the 41 games after his return in July, he slashed .276/.360/.561 with eight homers despite playing part of that stretch with a broken left thumb and a torn ligament in his right hand. He kept that party going in the offseason.
“I kept talking with our hitting coach Jeff Albert in the offseason,” Alvarez said. “We’re staying with the same thing I was doing and I’m working on the same routine — everything the same . . . I just want to win. That’s the No. 1 thing since Day 1 — just win, have a good relationship with my teammates, be a better teammate every day. That’s my goal.”
And there were other improvements.
“The receiving, the blocking was a lot better, the throwing, the game-calling,” manager Carlos Mendoza said in a news conference Thursday. “Those weeks he spent in the minor leagues, it was kind of like a reset for him.”
The good news is that Arencibia, promoted this offseason to replace Glenn Sherlock, believes it’s sustainable. The issue was Alvarez’s base, he said, mostly his feet.
“It was purely mechanics,” Arencibia said, adding that Alvarez’s back toe was slipping, something that can happen when a catcher uses the one-legged stance that Alvarez adopted in 2023.
That stance has its benefits, though: Catchers hold their gloves lower that way, allowing them to better frame pitches below the knees; it also allows for a quicker release.
So they fixed the toe. And that’s where all those analogies come in.
“You can be a Ferrari and have a flat front tire,” Arencibia said. “It’s not going to drive well, but it’s still a Ferrari.”
The palm tree: “When you have [those fronds], it keeps it firm . . . I’m not going to be as strong as I need to be if I don’t have a good base.”
The boxer: “If you’re stepping back while you’re throwing a punch, you’re not going to be in a strong position.”
And finally, and perhaps most pivotally for this year, the Rolls-Royce: “It’s not that he’s a different guy [now],” Arencibia said. “He’s always a Rolls-Royce. The dude is one of the best in the world . . . He essentially just had to refill the tires.”
Greater stability begets better blocking, facilitates framing and allows for a more powerful release.
That’s what the Mets hope, isn’t it?
Alvarez, with all that potential, has the raw ability to be a massive part of this team’s success. The big weakness in his game — stopping base-stealers — has improved significantly over the last two years, even as rule changes make base-stealing easier and more prevalent. His blocking has improved and his framing could be elite, which is all a bonus when you consider his power numbers.
Arencibia worked with Alvarez during parts of the offseason and believes the catcher has put it together.
“With Alvy, he’s an absolute freak of nature when it comes to his ability,” Arencibia said. “It’s just a matter of letting his ability shine.”
Tong time
Jonah Tong threw about 35 pitches in his first live bullpen session of spring training Friday.
“Slider, the cutter thing, felt really good,” he said. “The curveball felt really good.”
The rookie righthander said of his focus this camp: “Continuing to develop the off-speed. I know last year, I was really confident in the fastball, changeup. Just making sure I have the same level of confidence with my other two offerings.”
Mendoza said: “I want him to go out there and continue to develop all of his pitches . . . He’s going to pitch for us and we’re going to need him.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
