The Mets are hoping catcher Francisco Alvarez’s latest hand injury is nothing to worry about, but they’re going to make sure.
Alvarez will return to New York to undergo an MRI on Monday after suffering a right thumb injury on a headfirst slide into second base during Sunday’s 7-3 win in the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.
“Right now, we don't know what we're dealing with, but we just got to wait,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Alvarez was checked on by Mendoza and a team trainer after leading off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double and jamming his thumb into second base on his slide. He still had grip strength in the digit, Mendoza said, and he was insisting on remaining in the game.
But when the Mets took the field in the eighth, Luis Torrens replaced Alvarez behind the plate.
"At that point, I was like, ‘Let's not mess around with it,’” Mendoza said. “And, you know, I basically took it away from him. I didn't want to let him even play catch.”
The Mets skipper acknowledged the injury is worrisome for a player such as Alvarez, who has missed significant time due to injuries to his other hand. He was out nearly two months in 2024 after suffering a left thumb sprain, and a fractured left hamate bone in 2025 Spring Training cost him a month of the regular season.
“Concerning, I'm not going to lie, you know, because that's like, the third time, so …” Mendoza said. “But I'm not going to sit here and speculate, because we don't know what we're dealing with.”