Mets explain what Francisco Alvarez must do to return to majors: 'It's not statistical'

Francisco Alvarez’s difficulties behind the plate reached a crescendo in the days before the Mets sent him down to Triple-A Syracuse.

His inability to get in front of a ball in the dirt, and indecisiveness on a rundown play contributed to a loss early last week in Atlanta.

Then, on Saturday in Philadelphia, a passed ball on Alvarez led to a run.

The 23-year-old also mashed a 452-foot homer on Saturday night, showing the immense potential he still has.

Overall, Alvarez is hitting just .236/.319/.333 with three home runs and three doubles in 138 plate appearances over 35 games this season. And his struggles at the plate and behind it simply became too much for the Mets to ignore, resulting in his demotion on Sunday.

“Alvy’s a really talented player. He got to the big leagues at such a young age, performed at such a high level immediately that it’s difficult to remember sometimes he is still young,” President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said on Tuesday at Citi Field. “He’s an age that good prospects — industry-leading prospects — are still in Double-A. And he’s been playing in the big leagues for two-plus years.

“So this is not unusual. And I think getting him a little bit of a chance to reset, to work on both sides of the game — and we do think there are performance improvements that are needed on both sides of the game. Giving him an opportunity to do that in a less pressurized environment where he’s not doing it in front of 45,000 people every night, against really good pitching, catching pitchers with really good stuff. We thought this was the right time to do that, both for him and for the team as a whole.”

Mets explain what Francisco Alvarez must do to return to majors: 'It's not statistical' — May 5, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Alvarez missed the first month of the season after needing surgery for a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.

It was the second time in as many years that he missed significant time due to an injury — Alvarez missed a chunk of time in 2024 after tearing a ligament in his left thumb.

While it’s possible the recovery from the hamate surgery has impacted Alvarez’s power a bit, it’s not an extra-base hit surge the Mets are seeking from him in the minors before calling him back up.

“There are certainly some goals, and yes, they’re not statistical,” Stearns explained. “And they’re on both sides of the ball. We want to see him get back to the level of player that we know he can be — that’s what he wants to do as well.”

Stearns also discussed Alvarez’s receiving difficulties, and whether or not he could be carrying his offensive struggles with him behind the dish.

“I think for any player, when you struggle on one side of the ball, sometimes it can impact the other side of the ball,” Stearns said. “And I don’t know if that is happening, but it would be natural if it would. Alvy’s really competitive. He cares a lot, and sometimes that level of emotion — that competitive spirit — can be tough to corral.

“There are things I think we can help him with — on both sides of the ball — receiving among them, to get him back to the level that we’re accustomed to seeing.”