While Carlos Mendoza and the Mets were in Atlanta on Sunday, the manager received a video from a staffer back at Citi Field. It was injured catcher Francisco Alvarez swinging a bat, something the Mets didn’t think he’d be able to do for a few more days.
“I was pretty impressed,” Mendoza said Monday at Citi Field ahead of the start of a series against the Philadelphia Phillies. “I couldn’t believe it. Yesterday, somebody sent me a video of him hitting here, back at Citi Field, and when I was looking at it I was like,’ There’s no way this guy is swinging the bat.”
Alvarez sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during MLB’s Little League Classic eight days ago in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was expected to be shut down for 7-10 days before being reevaluated, but he’s well ahead of schedule — so far ahead, he could begin a minor league rehab assignment as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.
Alvarez can play through the injury so long as he’s able to manage the pain, and delay the surgery for the offseason. Taking batting practice on the field Sunday and Monday is a sign that he may be able to tolerate the injury for the rest of the season.
Tuesday, Alvarez will take BP on the field again and off the machine. The next step is seeing how he throws a ball.
“We’ve got to see the throwing part,” Mendoza said. “My initial reaction was like, how is he going to be able to swing the bat? After watching the video yesterday and watching him today, and going through the whole routine before he went out there, and the fact that he’s willing to face pitching as early as Wednesday [is positive]. We’ve got to see the throwing and all that, but the swinging part, there’s no hesitation there.”
The Mets want to make sure the catcher doesn’t have any issues defensively before activating him. Using him at DH isn’t ideal with two right-handed hitters already used there, Starling Marte and Mark Vientos.
Alvarez was hitting .341 with four doubles, three home runs, four walks and a 1.059 OPS in the month of August before the injury. Getting his bat back in the lineup at a time when the offense has finally started to produce runs again could give the offense a boost for the final month of the season.
SIRI STARTS REHAB ASSIGNMENT
Center fielder Jose Siri will begin a rehab assignment this week with Low-A Port St. Lucie, and will continue Sept. 2 with Triple-A Syracuse when they open a series in Buffalo. While the Mets were on the road, Siri was able to go down to Florida to start hitting. The speedy center fielder has been sidelined since April with a fractured tibia after fouling a pitch off his shin in Sacramento, and experienced a setback when the bone initially failed to heal properly.
Siri was measured at 95% of his typical speed and output while running from home plate to first base this week, and he’s been taking batting practice on the field. However, he hasn’t seen live pitching in a few months, getting into the box against Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga earlier this summer when the two were rehabbing. This might not be a quick rehab process.
“He’ll start playing every other day, and then the next week we’ll start moving him up,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to see a full nine innings, we’ve got to see back-to-back [games], we’ve got to get him adjusted to the volume and just the grind of playing every day. So I could see this being a couple of weeks.
The Mets still think they can use him before the end of the season, but it would be a crowded outfield with Tyrone Taylor and Cedric Mullins in center field. Taylor can play anywhere, but so long as Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto are healthy, they’ll continue to play in the corners. Siri’s speed could be a welcome asset, but Taylor can also be used in late-game situations on the basepaths.
The club has not yet started to look at playing time or usage between Siri, Taylor and Mullins.
GARRETT GOES DOWN
Right-handed reliever Reed Garrett was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday (retroactive to Saturday) with elbow inflammation. Garrett was struggling to recover after recent outings. Sunday after playing catch in Atlanta, the training staff decided it was time to get imaging done.
The good news is that the injury appears to be minor. There is no damage to the UCL, and the Mets expect him back after the 15 days are up. Garrett will have a few days off after receiving a cortisone shot and will pitch in at least one minor league game.
Left-hander Jose Castillo was called up from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding transaction, and right-hander Frankie Montas was moved to the 60-day injured list.
