Francisco Alvarez to take full batting practice with Mets this weekend
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez weill be doing some batting practice this Memorial Day weekend at Citi Field. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CLEVELAND — Still on track for a mid-June return, Francisco Alvarez is set for a noteworthy step this weekend: full-fledged batting practice on the field with the Mets for the first time since thumb surgery.
That usually is one of the last boxes a player needs to check before going on a minor-league rehab assignment.
Given Alvarez’s position (catcher) and injury (torn ligament in the thumb on his left/catching hand), his timeline might be a tad more complicated. But the overall takeaway is clear: So far, so good in Alvarez’s recovery.
Among the recent milestones: Alvarez has resumed catching and on Wednesday was scheduled to do so with a high-velocity pitching machine.
“He’s doing a lot more nowadays,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “A lot of good reports on him . . . We’ll see how it goes the next couple of days after he takes BP and starts receiving off a velo machine and things like that. So we can take the next step. But as of right now, he’s in a good spot.”
He has been wearing a splint, according to Mendoza, who added that “he might have to wear that moving forward.”
In the four-plus weeks Alvarez has been out, the Mets have relied largely on Tomas Nido as their go-to catcher, starting him in 13 of 20 games this month for his better defense and, lately, better offense. Omar Narvaez has remained the backup.
“We’ve missed (Alvarez), but I also feel like Nido is doing a really good job,” Mendoza said. “Narvy continues to put his work in. He’s handled it really well. But yeah, we definitely miss him.”
Extra bases
Mark Vientos doubled in the Mets’ 6-3 loss to the Guardians, his second consecutive start against a righthander (after Brett Baty had been playing those games). He is up to six extra-base hits in nine games; Baty has six in 43 games . . . Francisco Lindor went 2-for-5 with two doubles, pushing his average back up to .203. He leads the Mets with four games of multiple extra-base hits.
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.
