Mets demote struggling Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse
Francisco Alvarez of the Mets reacts after lining out to end a game in the 13th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 23. Credit: Jim McIsaac
PHILADELPHIA — It was a splitter, middle in, and Francisco Alvarez did not miss.
He blasted the pitch 452 feet to left-center at 111.3 mph Saturday night, the longest of the MLB record-tying seven solo home runs the Mets hit in their 11-4 win over the Phillies.
Shortly after that, his manager asked to speak to him. For however majestic it was, that would be the catcher’s last major-league hit for a while.
After a frustrating two months marked by Alvarez’s inconsistency and regression on both sides of the ball, the Mets on Sunday optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Hayden Senger was recalled in a corresponding move; Luis Torrens now is their primary catcher.
The reason, believe it or not, was evident in that big homer, which was Alvarez’s second hit of the night.
“There’s a lot of potential there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets’ series finale against the Phillies on Sunday night. “We decided that it was best for him to go down to Triple-A, play every day, work, whether it’s the offense, the defense . . . When he’s playing up to his potential, he’s got a chance to be a pretty special player. We’re going to need him, and we expect him to be back.”
Alvarez, 23, has a .236/.319/.333 slash line in 35 games this year. Two years after a rookie season in which he hit 25 homers, he has experienced a power outage. He has only three homers with 11 RBIs, 13 walks and 38 strikeouts.
He consistently has been getting beat on the fastball, and, although he has a high caught-stealing percentage, other aspects of his catching have suffered, particularly receiving and blocking.
Despite offensive numbers very similar to Alvarez’s, Torrens is a defensive upgrade and has made a strong case for more playing time. And between Alvarez making major tweaks to his swing this offseason and a hamate injury that postponed his season debut until late April, the platoon wasn’t doing the young player any favors, Mendoza said.
“There were stretches where we felt, I felt, a couple of games where [it was like], OK, that’s what it’s supposed to look like,” Mendoza said. “But then he’ll go a couple of games where he’s late with the fastball and he chases. We’re just looking for consistency.
“Even though we gave him a chance here, if you’re playing three, four games a week compared to having an opportunity to go play six, that’s how you’re going to get better. And in reality, Luis continues to earn playing time, so we’re getting to a point where it was a 50-50, and is that what’s best for Alvy? Probably not at this time.”
The Mets are putting together a plan of action with Syracuse’s manager, coaches, defensive coaches and coordinators to address their concerns, Mendoza said. He added that there was a lot of good in the changes Alvarez made to his swing in the offseason, but missing spring training and then debuting those changes against major-league pitching in regular-season games didn’t set him up for success.
“You’re going through major adjustments, you’re going to need at-bats, and that’s what spring training is for,” Mendoza said. It’s been “back-to-back years where he’s dealing with some type of injury, so again, we’ve seen some signs, but we’ve got to see it on a consistent basis.”
The conversation with Alvarez, who is well-liked in the clubhouse, wasn’t necessarily an easy one. The young catcher was surprised but was “very professional . . . very respectful,” Mendoza said. “He did a lot of listening . . . It’s more about what’s best for Alvy, what’s best for the team and the organization when we’re looking at the present and the future.”
Notes & quotes: Mark Vientos (hamstring) played third and went 1-for-5 in his rehab start with Syracuse on Sunday, but Mendoza said he still needs to get feedback from president of baseball operations David Stearns and Triple-A coaches before the Mets decide whether to reinstate him . . . Brooks Raley (Tommy John surgery) looked strong for the second straight rehab start with Class A St. Lucie on Saturday. He allowed no runs and one hit with no walks and two strikeouts in one inning and threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
