A month after he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, former top prospect Francisco Alvarez is set to return to the New York Mets, The Athletic reported Sunday.
The Mets intend to recall the 23-year-old catcher from Triple-A ahead of their Monday matchup against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
Alvarez was optioned by New York following the team’s game on June 21. At the time of his demotion, he was batting just .236 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 35 games. As a rookie in 2023, Alvarez belted 25 homers and hit .209 across 123 games.
Over the past month, however, Alvarez has shown notable improvements. Since joining Syracuse, he batted .299 with 11 home runs. That included a long ball on Sunday that was his third homer in three days and seventh in 19 at-bats.
Additionally, per The Athletic, Alvarez’s defense and framing — which ranked in MLB’s bottom 9 percent, according to Baseball Savant — earned rave reviews from coaches and pitchers in Syracuse.
Alvarez was considered the No. 1 prospect in 2022, but wrist and hand injuries hampered him after his rookie season. Since first debuting with the Mets in 2022, Alvarez has batted .223 with 40 home runs and 122 RBIs in 263 games.
–Field Level Media
