The New York Mets are getting their starting catcher back remarkably quickly.
Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that the Mets will activate catcher Francisco Alvarez ahead of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Alvarez, who underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, is returning to the field after just four weeks, far ahead of the anticipated timetable of 6-8 weeks.
The 24-year-old backstop has been hampered by injuries throughout his young career, but brings tantalizing upside at the plate when healthy. Alvarez clubbed 25 home runs as a rookie in 2023 and hit 11 homers in just 76 games last year; he slashed .256/.339/.447 with a 124 wRC+ for his best offensive season yet.
Alvarez entered the Mets' May 12 game against the Detroit Tigers with a .241/.317/.393 slash line, four home runs, a 104 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR. That night, he tore the meniscus in his right knee when fouling off a pitch, and left the game without finishing the at-bat. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced the next day that Alvarez would have surgery, leading to the initial 6-8 week timetable.
However, Alvarez made remarkably quick progress in his rehab, to the point that he played in four games with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets and caught at least six innings in each. In his final rehab game before being activated, Alvarez was behind the plate for all nine innings; he also went 1-for-3 with a walk at the dish.
As mentioned before, Alvarez has struggled to avoid injuries in his career so far. Before the meniscus tear, he's dealt with torn ligaments in both thumbs over the past two seasons and started 2025 on the injured list with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.
With Alvarez back, Luis Torrens will go back to being the backup catcher, while Hayden Senger was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Alvarez will bat ninth in the Mets' lineup tonight against the Cardinals, which marks the first game of a six-game homestand.
