Mets’ Francisco Alvarez gives thumb surgery timetable

Will New York be able to tread water without one of its core players for several weeks?

Alvarez’s injury gives other Mets catchers a chance to prove themsleves

Alvarez has shown flashes of why he was one of the top international prospects in the 2018-19 class. The native Venezuelan is slashing .236/.288/.364 with one homer across 16 games, while also ranking in the 92nd percentile in Statcast’s catcher framing metric. These numbers are impressive for a player in his second season. For reference, fellow catcher and three-time All-Star J.T. Realmuto is slashing .235/.288/.368 for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets made a couple of roster moves to compensate for the setback, via CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry and R.J. Anderson.

“In corresponding moves, the club recalled catcher Tomas Nido from Triple-A and designated left-hander Kolton Ingram for assignment in order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Nido,” they said. “During Alvarez’s absence, Omar Narváez is likely to be the Mets’ regular behind the plate.”

New York needs both Narváez and Nido to be reliable in Alvarez’s absence. The Mets can’t afford to have the catcher position be an automatic out in the lineup if they hope to continue surprising the baseball world over the coming weeks.

Although the Alvarez replacements may be a bit below his level, they should still be able to contribute. Narváez sports a career  .254/.338/.378 slash line, while Nido slashed .345/.345/.517 with two doubles, one home run and two RBI for Triple-A Syracuse this year.

Narváez sounded off on the situation Saturday, via ESPN.

“It’s sad because he’s an important part of the team,” he said. “He’s a tough kid. But things happen and I’m ready to go.”

The 32-year-old does have some work to do, as he’s hitting just .200 this year. On top of that, Nido will be hungry to prove himself and stay in the big leagues. The Puerto Rican international has bounced around between the minors and majors since he got drafted in 2012. The injury to Alvarez presents him with a golden opportunity to show off his improved skills, and possibly leapfrog Narváez on the depth chart.

Regardless of which backup catcher plays better, the Mets need to keep stacking wins if they want to stay in the NL East mix. New York currently sits 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves (14-5) in first place, who are widely considered to be championship contenders.