Francisco Alvarez could miss 6-8 weeks with meniscus tear in right knee
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Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday and is slated for surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee, with catcher Hayden Senger recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Alvarez will "hopefully" return in six to eight weeks, but added that the team wouldn't have an exact timeline until the surgery is performed.
"Once they go in there, we'll have a better understanding of what we're dealing with," Mendoza said. "All we know is we have to wait until they go in there and find what we got."
The 24-year-old Alvarez, who has battled a string of physical ailments throughout his young career, was injured in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 10-2 win over the Tigers.
Batting with a runner on base in the sixth, Alvarez twisted his leg awkwardly while fouling off a Burch Smith pitch. After a lengthy chat with Mendoza and trainer Joe Golia, he gave way to pinch-hitter Luis Torrens.
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Alvarez is hitting .241 with a .710 OPS through 37 games as the Mets’ starting catcher this season. He missed significant time to the injured list from 2024-25 due to multiple torn thumb ligaments and a fractured left hamate bone. Until Tuesday, however, he had managed to stay healthy in 2026.
He is the third Met to go down with a meniscus tear already this season, along with outfielders Mike Tauchman and Jared Young. Tauchman has been out since the final weekend of Spring Training and isn't due back until midsummer, though Young could return in late May or June after landing on the IL on April 15.
With Alvarez sidelined for a substantial stretch, Torrens will take over as the Mets' everyday catcher. Senger exited his own game at Triple-A shortly after Alvarez was pulled due to injury.