Francisco

Alvarez

Torrens, who was set to become a free agent next offseason, will remain in New York through 2028 in a backup role behind Francisco Alvarez. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo adds that the deal contains an additional $2 million in performance-based incentives.

Alvarez, who has hit third three times and fourth once in the last four games, continues to lose playing time due to Juan Soto being confined to DH duties for the time being. Luis Torrens is starting against RHP Miles Mikolas and the Nationals. Alvarez has slumped badly of late, with just three hits since April 18. His OPS is down from .894 to .691 since then.

He also walked. Both hits were infield singles, somehow. Alvarez has been the one hitter actually playing well for the Mets so far, now carrying a .294/.410/.549 line with four homers. He’s actually fourth in baseball in xWOBA at this point, and he’s steadily getting pushed up the lineup after hitting ninth most of the year -- he hit fifth for the second straight day today. He has some high-ceiling upside runouts at the catcher position.

It’s the first DH appearance for Alvarez this year, both telling of how good he’s been at the plate (.300/.400/.633 in 37 plate appearances so far) and how bereft of depth the Mets are without Juan Soto. Jorge Polanco will get the day off.

The hard-hitting backstop tagged Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle for a 415-foot (106.1 mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning that increased the Mets’ lead to 5-0. He then victimized JT Brubaker for a 401-foot (107.0 mph EV) after an eight-pitch battle to open the seventh inning. He has been a productive option for fantasy purposes thus far, hitting .286 (6-for-21) with three long balls and three RBI.

He was also hit by a pitch. Alvarez’s homer, the second of back-to-back shots with Carson Benge, left the bat at 109 mph and was projected at 429 feet. Because of the depth in the Mets lineup, Alvarez was hitting ninth today. There’s a lot of power potential here if he can avoid injuries, especially those to the hands that have plagued him in his young career, but batting ninth will hold him back somewhat until he can overtake No. 7 hitter Marcus Semien or maybe move up to fifth if Luis Robert Jr. struggles or gets hurt.

It’s an encouraging sign to see Alvarez back in action after Mets manager Carlos Mendoza downplayed concern following his starting catcher’s early exit from Thursday’s spring contest due to back tightness. The 24-year-old slugging backstop should be a full-go for next week’s season opener.

Mendoza said Alvarez will “go through a workout today and swing the bat, and if all goes well, the plan is still for him to be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.” Looks like the Mets and fantasy managers avoided any real trouble here.

Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the game that Alvarez was lifted for precautionary reasons and that if had been the regular season he would have continued playing. While it doesn’t sound like anything to worry about, he will be re-evaluated on Friday. It’s at least something that fantasy managers should keep an eye on.

No word yet from the Mets on what exactly is going on, but Alvarez was pulled during the top half of the fourth inning after he was slated to play the entire game. It’s possible that he may have tweaked something on a swing while striking out during his first at-bat. Stay tuned, as the Mets should have an update on his status shortly.