Francisco Alvarez, the catcher for the New York Mets, underwent successful surgery on his thumb in Los Angeles following an injury during the team’s series against the Dodgers.
The surgery aimed to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb. Manager Carlos Mendoza provided a more definitive timeline for Alvarez’s return, estimating around eight weeks due to the nature of his position and the significance of the injury to his catching hand. This suggests a potential comeback by late June. In Alvarez’s absence, Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido will take over catching duties. Alvarez, who is 22 years old, had a mixed performance at the plate in his first 16 games of the season, with one home run and eight RBI, but struggled in his most recent seven games, hitting only .174 with no home runs and four RBI.
Despite a promising start in his previous season with 25 home runs and 63 RBI, Alvarez’s batting statistics dipped significantly. Narváez, a 32-year-old veteran from Venezuela, has been filling in with a .207 batting average and three RBI in 11 starts. Nido, recalled on April 20th to support Narváez, is a 30-year-old right-handed batter who has played three MLB games this season and has been with the Mets since his debut in 2017.
