NEW YORK -- Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez’s history of major injuries has continued into 2026. An MRI taken Wednesday revealed that Alvarez has a torn meniscus in his right knee, requiring surgery to fix. He landed on the injured list and is likely to miss six to eight weeks.
It’s a significant blow for Alvarez, who has not given the Mets a full, healthy season since his rookie year in 2023. Multiple torn thumb ligaments, a fractured left hamate bone and now a torn meniscus have derailed Alvarez at various turns, limiting him to 213 games since the start of 2024. Those injuries have also prevented Alvarez, a 24-year-old who was once one of the top prospects in baseball, from fully developing at the Major League level.
Alvarez’s latest absence should keep him sidelined until at least late June and possibly well into July. Batting in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 10-2 win over the Tigers, the catcher twisted his leg awkwardly while fouling off a Burch Smith pitch. Following a lengthy chat with manager Carlos Mendoza and trainer Joe Golia, he gave way to pinch-hitter Luis Torrens.
“It was weird,” Mendoza said. “And we knew right away when he came out of the game. The past couple of years with the injuries … he stayed there, he tried to fight and then he came out. Right away, me and Joe the trainer, we knew something wasn’t right for him to come out of the game like that.”
Through 37 games as the Mets’ starting catcher, Alvarez was hitting .241 with a .710 OPS. He was not at Citi Field on Wednesday to comment on his situation.
“You feel for him,” Mendoza said. “You feel for the person, for the human. You feel like he’s getting time to develop, to continue to learn, play. He hasn’t gotten that run of playing every day, going through struggles, finding a way to get through it and keep going. For him the past two years, he’s always been injured.”
With Alvarez set to miss significant time, the Mets recalled defensive-minded catcher Hayden Senger from Triple-A Syracuse. Senger will play behind Torrens, who has filled in for Alvarez as the Mets’ starting catcher multiple times in the past.
Earlier this month, Torrens signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract extension to remain Alvarez’s backup through 2028. Though Torrens is batting just .208 with a .547 OPS through 19 games, he is one of the league’s best at controlling the opposing running game. Senger likewise rates as one of the game’s strongest defensive catchers.
“It’s a big blow, obviously -- you lose your starting catcher,” Mendoza said. “But we also feel good with what Luis and Senger bring to the table.”
Of note, Alvarez is the third Met to suffer a meniscus tear in the last three months, joining outfielders Mike Tauchman and Jared Young. Tauchman, who suffered his injury in late March, has yet to restart baseball activities. Young, who tore his meniscus in mid-April, is progressing more rapidly and is slated to begin a Minor League rehab assignment by the end of this week.
Yet Alvarez’s situation is not entirely comparable to those two, Mendoza said, because he is a catcher who must squat behind the plate upwards of 100 times per game.
“Knowing Alvy, this guy is going to do everything he can to get back on the field as quick as possible,” Mendoza said. “But yeah, we’re looking at a knee, and he’s a catcher. It’s probably different than what Jared Young is dealing with.”
As for the rash of meniscus tears, Mendoza did not have an explanation.
“It’s hard to pinpoint,” the manager said. “There’s years where you’re dealing with hamstrings. It seems like this is the year of the knee.”
Whether that’s due to rotten luck or something more systemic, the upshot is that the Mets on Wednesday added Alvarez to an injured list that already included Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Ronny Mauricio, Young and Tauchman -- and that’s just on the position-player side of things. Earlier this season, the Mets also lost Juan Soto for two and a half weeks.
Although their lineup is no longer representative of what team officials drew up in the offseason, they do not have the luxury of waiting, as Mendoza put it, “to put the whole band together.”
“It’s what we’re dealing with,” Mendoza added. “We’ve got to keep going. Guys have got to step up. I’ll continue to sit here and say the same thing: A lot of teams are going through adversity. A lot of teams are dealing with injuries. We’re one of them.”