Francisco Alvarez’s ninth-inning moonshot in the ninth inning of Saturday’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies was not enough to keep him in the majors, as the Mets sent the struggling catcher to Triple-A on Sunday afternoon.
Hayden Senger was recalled from Syracuse and will serve as Luis Torrens’ backup moving forward.
The 23-year-old continued struggles at the plate that spanned back to last season. After hitting 25 home runs in his first full season in 2023, Alvarez batted .237 with 11 home runs and a .710 OPS in 100 games last season.
While attempting to revamp his approach at the plate during spring training, he broke a hamate bone in his left wrist, pushing his 2025 debut back to late April.
Offensive improvements have yet to come. In 35 games, Alvarez was batting .236 with a .652 OPS, three home runs, and 11 RBI. He hit his third round-tripper of the year in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday night, sending a 452-foot blast out to left field.
“I know he’s working. It hasn’t been easy for him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alvarez last week. “The one thing with Alvy, he is very positive and he’ll continue to grind through it.”
Torrens’ emergence as a starting catching candidate provides the Mets with the flexibility to option Alvarez to Triple-A. The veteran backstop, acquired from the Yankees last year, got off to a hot start this season, batting .275 with a .787 OPS, one home run, and 11 RBI in his first 34 games. But he has cooled off significantly since then, batting .121 with a .268 OPS and two RBI in his last 11 outings entering Sunday’s series finale against the Phillies.
Alvarez is still very much the Mets’ future behind the plate, but on the heels of a seven-game losing streak that evaporated their lead atop the National League East, they are not afforded the luxury of having the young catcher figure it out at the big-league level.
