This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NEW YORK -- Two years ago, Luis Torrens came to the Mets in a time of crisis.
When the Mets traded for Torrens in May 2024, Francisco Alvarez was on the injured list nursing the first major ailment of his career, a torn left thumb ligament. Torrens took over as the starting catcher upon arrival, collecting four RBIs in his first four games before starting a crucial, game-ending, 2-3 double play in London that became a flash point for the Mets’ season.
Although Alvarez returned shortly thereafter, Torrens remained in the picture as a backup catcher. His presence proved important when Alvarez broke the hamate bone in his left hand the following spring, then again when he sprained his right thumb and broke a bone in his left pinkie last August. Each time, Torrens filled in as the starting catcher for as long as Alvarez was absent.
Yet Torrens, whom Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently called one of the best backups in baseball, hasn’t always performed as well when asked to play every day. When Alvarez missed time early last season, Torrens produced a .675 OPS in those games -- roughly equivalent to his 2024 full-season performance. But when Alvarez was optioned to the Minors last June, that mark fell to .508 for Torrens during the starting catcher’s absence.
Torrens did put together a strong run when Alvarez missed additional time down the stretch last year, so perhaps he’s solved the puzzle of how to play well on a daily basis. That’s what the Mets hope, at least, considering Alvarez will miss the next 6-8 weeks nursing his latest malady, a meniscus tear in his right knee.
“I always prepare myself like I’m going to play every day,” Torrens said. “So when that moment comes, I’m already in my same routine and my same mood. I just try to stay healthy and help the team in all the areas I can help -- defense, offense. That’s the goal.”
Part of the difficulty of transitioning to a starting role, Mendoza noted, is adjusting as pitchers begin game-planning more extensively to get you out. But Torrens said he has enough time in the big leagues now -- more than 1,270 career plate appearances and counting -- that opponents already have a strong sense of how they’re going to pitch him.
A more difficult aspect of playing every day, he said, is simply staying healthy -- especially behind the plate, where bumps and scrapes tend to happen more frequently.
“You have to take care of your body a little bit more,” Torrens said. “But I’m trying to prepare myself so when the opportunities come, I don’t really have to change much. Just keep doing what I do.”
The Mets’ belief in Torrens as a capable fill-in is part of the reason why they handed him a two-year, $15.5 million extension earlier this month to keep him under team control through 2028. At a $7.75 million average annual value, the contract pays Torrens quite a bit more than most backup catchers. That’s an acknowledgement that if Torrens had become a free agent after this season, he might have entertained offers as a starter. Paying him more like a starting catcher was the easiest way to convince Torrens to stick around.
Now, the Mets will ask Torrens to pay them back some immediate dividends on their investment. While Torrens isn’t likely to hit in the heart of New York’s order anytime soon, he is, at his best, a superb defensive catcher capable of providing occasional extra-base pop. The 37 runners Torrens has caught stealing since the start of 2024 rank 11th in the Majors, ahead of many catchers -- including Alvarez -- who have played significantly more games than him. Pitchers love throwing to him. His defensive reflexes around the batters box are elite.
For those reasons and others, the Mets have long been enamored with Torrens’ game. The difference is that now, his production won’t be a bonus. Torrens is the starter, and the Mets will be counting on him nearly every day.
“Making adjustments from at-bat to at-bat, series to series, game to game, pitch to pitch… I think offensively, it’s more of that,” Mendoza said. “You play one game, OK. Now, you play one game, they’re watching you in the lineup the next day. You’re going to be pitched a certain way until you make an adjustment.”