NEW YORK -- Mets manager Carlos Mendoza could not even deliver the news without laughing.
“He’s in the lineup today in Triple-A, DH’ing,” Mendoza said Saturday of Francisco Alvarez, whose pain tolerance defies that of normal human conventions.
It was just three days ago that Alvarez, rehabbing a sprained right thumb ligament, fractured his left pinky on a hit-by-pitch. The following afternoon, doctors cleared Alvarez to resume hitting with a splint on his finger.
“And sure enough, 10 minutes later,” Mendoza said, “he was in the cages taking hacks.”
Two days after that, Alvarez returned to the Syracuse club prepared to resume his path back to the Majors. Both injuries are pain tolerance issues for Alvarez, who will undergo surgery on his right thumb after the season. The broken pinky should heal on its own and, so far, has not affected Alvarez’s grip strength.
“He’s got a ligament in his right hand, he’s got a pinky fracture in his left, and he’s hitting balls in the upper deck,” Mendoza said of the catcher’s first batting practice with a fractured finger. “There’s no hesitation there. He’s not favoring anything. He’s letting it go.”
Defensively, Alvarez caught a recent bullpen session with no ill effects. He could return to catching duties for Syracuse as soon as Sunday.
As for Alvarez’s ultimate return to the Majors, that will depend upon his production while on his rehab assignment. Playing through pain is one thing. Succeeding through pain is another. Mets officials will look for on-field results from Alvarez before ideally bringing him back to the Majors after rosters expand in September.
Overall this season, Alvarez is hitting .265/.349/.438 with seven home runs in 56 games. After returning from a performance-based stint in the Minors in late July, Alvarez hit .323/.408/.645 with four homers in 21 games before landing on the injured list.
He has missed time the past two seasons with four different hand injuries, including UCL sprains/tears in each of his thumbs, a fractured left hamate bone and a fractured left pinky. Alvarez’s next surgery will be his third in less than two years.