NEW YORK -- The Mets received a much-needed reinforcement on Tuesday, when Francisco Alvarez was activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of the series opener against the Cardinals at Citi Field. The catcher was sidelined after tearing the meniscus in his right knee on May 13, originally given a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks.
Instead, Alvarez will bat ninth in his return and assume the Mets' starting catcher role in just over four weeks. Catcher Hayden Senger was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday in a corresponding move.
Alvarez was hitting .241 with a .710 OPS and four home runs in 37 games prior to his injury. In his absence, Luis Torrens -- who signed a two-year extension with the club on May 2 -- had manned the backstop position with Senger operating as the backup catcher. Through the Mets’ first 65 games, whoever has been catching in the lineup has been underwhelming offensively, with the position group batting .213 with a .623 OPS and a combined six home runs.
Alvarez’s rapid return to the Majors and back to full health was miraculous in a sense: He started his Minor League rehab assignment on June 2, less than a month after meniscus surgery, and then caught a full game five days later on Sunday. Alvarez, who hasn’t had a fully healthy MLB campaign since his rookie year in 2023, is likely raring to come back and contribute to a Mets team trending in the right direction, having won seven of its past 10 games.