Despite being just 22 years old, Francisco Alvarez’s return to the Mets after two months on the shelf is the shot in the arm the team has been looking for.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday before New York takes on the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, the energy that Alvarez exudes was apparent and comes at the perfect time as the Mets try to prevent their season from slipping away.
“I feel very excited. Everything feels good and I’m happy to be back,” Alvarez said, adding not that nothing is holding him back, defensively or offensively. “I feel great and I have no excuses.”
The second-year player hasn’t played since April 19 in Los Angeles when he sprained his thumb sliding into second base against the Dodgers. Since then, New York has gone 17-28 to see their record go from three games above .500 to eight games below .500.
While that record isn’t solely due to the absence of Alvarez, the catcher was sorely missed, and not just offensively.
Before his injury, the Mets had a 2.15 ERA with Alvarez behind the plate. In the nearly two months he was gone, that ERA jumped over two runs with Tomas Nido, Omar Narvaez and Luis Torrens filling in.
During that time, New York designated an underperforming Narvaez for assignment, and to make room for Alvarez, DFA’d Nido as well, choosing Torrens – who has played well in his brief stint – to be Alvarez’s backup.
“I feel like I [came] here to help my team and do the same thing as all the time. Try to win, work hard and let’s see what can happen,” Alvarez said.
The 22-year-old is back in the starting lineup, catching and batting eighth, about a week earlier than his initial prognosis, albeit with a brace on his thumb that he said he’ll keep using for the time being.
Asked how he was able to return so quickly, Alvarez pointed to his dedication on and off the field.
“I [came] here to the field and was working on my thumb every day,” he said. “I [did] treatment every day and was consistent with that.”
About the brace, which Alvarez said isn’t hard to catch with but took some time getting used to for hitting, it could come off “maybe in a couple of weeks.”
At full strength, offensively, for the first time this season, the Mets, who have played better as of late and entered Tuesday three games back of the last wild card spot, are hoping to get back on track.
First up is a three-game series with Miami.
“I’m looking to win. I came here and I want to win. I want to play hard and get the W at the end of the day.”
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