ANAHEIM -- The Mets have rewarded Luis Torrens for his status as one of the best backup catchers in baseball, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract extension, the team announced Saturday. The deal is worth $11.5 million, according to a source.
The move ensures that Torrens, who turned 30 on the day the news broke, will remain in Queens through at least 2028.
"I’m really happy about it,” Torrens said through an interpreter. “Ever since I got here to the Mets, everyone has treated me great. I feel like I’m a part of the family, and there’s great value in that.”
Only seven catchers have caught more potential basestealers since the start of the 2024 season than Torrens, who has almost singlehandedly turned a former Mets weakness into a strength. His caught stealing rate of 47 percent over that stretch leads all backstops with at least 250 innings behind the plate. Last year, Torrens was a Gold Glove finalist despite only appearing in 86 games as a catcher.
Torrens' average pop time to second base last season was fourth fastest in MLB at 1.87 seconds last year. His 1.86-second average this year leads the Majors, albeit in only five attempts.
"When teams are playing us, they know … his ability to shut down the running game,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who has known Torrens since he was a teenage prospect in the Yankees’ Minor League system. “Teams in general respect him. It’s just been impressive.”
Offensively, Torrens has hit .225/.281/.347 with eight home runs in 152 games over parts of three seasons with the Mets, filling in for several long stretches when starting catcher Francisco Alvarez was on the injured list.
"He’s been a great citizen, a great player -- one of the best, if not the best backup catchers in the league,” Mendoza said. "I’m proud of him finally getting rewarded.”
A journeyman backup who spent time in five other organizations before joining the Mets, Torrens came to Flushing in a May 2024 trade from the Yankees that made only minor headlines at the time. But he proved his value immediately, starting regularly with Alvarez on the IL and helping spark the Mets’ turnaround with one of the most memorable plays of that season, a game-ending 2-3 double play to seal a June 9 win over the Phillies in London.
From that point forward, Torrens continued to earn playing time, even spending brief stretches in something approximating a timeshare with Alvarez. Though the latter remains the Mets’ unquestioned starter and is under team control through 2029, Torrens has established himself as one of the league’s most capable backups.
He is now being paid as such. Torrens, who is making $2.28 million through arbitration this season, will more than double that salary in 2027 and ’28.
Had Torrens opted to play out this season and test the open market, he may have found a team willing to try him in a starting role -- a scenario he called tempting. Instead, he chose the stability of the organization that helped him break out.
"My transition to the Mets was so smooth that I figured I want to be here,” Torrens said. “I want to sign now and not have to wait.”