Mets Francisco Alvarez replacements leave a lot to be desired after brutal injury

On Saturday, the Mets announced that they placed starting catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 15-Day IL with a thumb sprain. Later, it was reported by MLB.com's Anthony DiComo that Alvarez told teammates he would miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery for a torn ligament in that thumb.

Alvarez looks like he's going to be one of the building blocks of the Mets future and their starting catcher going forward. He broke out last year after taking over the starting roll full time, hitting 25 home runs and driving in 65. The 25 homers were the second most among catchers behind Seattle's Cal Raleigh.

So far this season, Alvarez hit .236 with a homer, four doubles and eight RBI in 16 games before the injury. The numbers weren't too eye-popping, but with Alvarez's potential and former prospect pedigree, it was the hope that he would break out even more. It's hard to find catchers with the offensive upside that Alvarez possesses, and with him being part of the next Mets core, this will be a big blow to a team that's getting hot.

Who will replace Francisco Alvarez for Mets during his IL stint?

Anytime you lose a catcher of Alvarez's caliber, there's going to be an immediate downgrade going to the backup catcher. For the Mets, that backup is Omar Narvaez, who New York signed to a two year deal before the 2023 season.

In backup duties in his first season, he played in 49 games and hit .211 with two home runs and a 62 OPS+. So far in 2024, he has played in nine games and posted a 44 OPS+, which is well below league average. The 32-year-old backstop hit 22 home runs in 2019 and was an All-Star in 2021, but it seems as if his best days are behind him. He's likely going to be just a defensive replacement, as is their other option at catcher.

Tomas Nido has been with the Mets since 2017 and got the call back to the big leagues post injury, after he started the season in Triple-A. In his first nine games with Syracuse, he started off hot, hitting .345 with a homer and two doubles.

Given his track record at the plate, there's no real reason to trust that performance will keep up. In 22 games in 2023, he hit .125 with a -22 OPS+, and the year before he his .239 with three home runs and a 72 OPS+ in 98 games.

Both Nido and Narvaez will not be counted on to provide at the plate like Alvarez does, rather they will just be counted on to be reliable behind the plate on defense. Luckily for the Mets, it shouldn't be a full season injury for their starter and he can help with a possible stretch run later in the year.

For now, they won't be getting much production from their catchers, and other players will have to step up in the youngsters absence.