New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has suffered a broken left pinky after being hit in the hand while batting during his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed on Thursday ahead of his club’s series opener against the Miami Marlins.
The break in his left pinky is believed to be a small fracture, which offers the hope that he can still return to action early next week. The 23-year-old was seen at Citi Field throwing with that recovering right hand, but a trainer was catching the ball for him.
“The early reports are that we’re going to wait for the inflammation to come down, maybe two or three days, and then we’ll get him going again,” Mendoza said. “This should be relatively short, but again, this is a setback compared to what the original plan was.”
Alvarez had just begun a rehab assignment for a sprained UCL in his right thumb, which he injured during an Aug. 17 game against the Seattle Mariners.
Such a short timetable appears to be a best-case scenario, considering that this is a broken finger on a catcher’s catching hand. The 2025 campaign has provided an onslaught of injuries for him, beginning with a fractured hamate bone in that left hand that required surgery and forced him to start the regular season roughly three weeks late.
Alvarez had been hitting his stride at the plate after a month-long demotion to Triple-A. In his last 21 games before hitting the injured list, he was batting .323 with a 1.054 OPS, four home runs, and 13 RBI.
“We’re not going to put him in a position where he’s very uncomfortable,” Mendoza said. “As tough as he is, he’s human. We have to get him to a point where it’s manageable.”
