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Try it freePORT ST. LUCIE — For a second straight season the Mets will be without Francisco Alvarez for a significant stretch.
The catcher fractured the hamate bone in his left hand and will undergo surgery Monday that will sideline him for 6-8 weeks, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.
Alvarez sustained the fracture on a swing during live batting practice.
The fracture occurred through the force of Alvarez’s swing, not a pitch hitting him.
“It’s a big blow when your starting catcher goes down,” Mendoza said Sunday at Clover Park. “But guys will step up. Guys will get opportunities, what we have in house and I am sure [president of baseball operations] David [Stearns] will be looking outside.”
Francisco Alvarez is expected to miss time due to a fracture in his left hand and will have surgery. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Mendoza added that the expectation is Alvarez will need the full eight weeks because he is a catcher and the injury occurred on his glove hand.
By that timeline, Alvarez would return to the Mets lineup in early May.
Last season Alvarez slipped rounding first base and tore a ligament in his left thumb that necessitated surgery that cost him seven weeks.
Francisco Alvarez (r.) walks off the mound with Clay Holmes during the Mets’ Grapefruit League game Feb. 27. Corey Sipkin for the NY PostHis initial return gave the lineup a jolt, but he struggled for most of the second half, finishing with a .237/.307/.403 slash line with 11 homers and 47 RBIs.
Backup Luis Torrens will move into the starter’s role in Alvarez’s absence.
The catching depth in camp includes Chris Williams, Hayden Senger and Jakson Reetz.
Francisco Alvarez is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Francisco Alvarez takes batting practice during the Mets’ spring training session Feb. 16. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post“These guys can handle a pitching staff, they can receive so we feel good,” Mendoza said. “[Torrens] will get a good opportunity now.”
Alvarez will join pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas on the injured list to begin the season.
Manaea is sidelined until mid-to-late April with a right oblique strain and Montas is rehabbing from a high-grade lat strain that will keep him out until at least mid-May.
“[Alvarez] is a team leader and any length of absence is unfortunate,” Stearns said. “We know he is going to be back, this is a relatively standard injury. We have gone through these before here, so we will be able to weather it.”
Clay Holmes, in his month-plus of workouts with Alvarez, has come to appreciate the catcher’s devotion to the pitchers.
“Alvy has been great — just the energy and how much he cares kind of bleeds over in this clubhouse,” Holmes said. “Just being here a short time you can feel that and see that. What he puts in behind the plate, it’s pretty incredible to see just how much he wants to be involved with the pitching.”
Torrens arrived in a trade with the Yankees last May and initially provided a spark filling in for Alvarez before settling into the backup role.
Torrens appeared in 47 games last season and posted a .229/.292/.665 slash line with three homers and 15 RBIs.
Williams, 27, has the most offensive potential among the backup catchers in camp.
A career minor leaguer, last season he hit 17 homers for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate.
Senger, 27, played 48 games for Triple-A Syracuse last season and produced a .725 OPS.
Reetz, 28, played six games for the Giants last season.
He also played two games for the Nationals in 2021.
Reetz blasted a grand slam in the 7-6 exhibition victory over the Nationals.
It was the second hit for Reetz in 11 at-bats this spring.
