New York Mets outside catching options with Francisco Alvarez out

The New York Mets are going to be without Francisco Alvarez for 6-8 weeks and there are a few external options available to help cover his absence.

Sep 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal (6) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a game tying solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have had relatively few injury issues during spring training on the offensive side but that changed on Sunday. Manager Carlos Mendoza announced that catcher Francisco Alvarez will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.

Read More: Francisco Alvarez undergoing surgery to repair hamate bone injury

Assuming that he heals in a normal fashion, the latest that Alvarez could be back is at the end of April, meaning he would miss the first month of the regular season. Mendoza indicated to the assembled media that he expects president of baseball operations David Stearns to look for another option to team with Luis Torrens behind the plate.

"It's a big blow when your starting catcher goes down, but guys will step up"

Carlos Mendoza talks about the Mets handling Francisco Alvarez being out of the lineup: pic.twitter.com/Nl407QfjrZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 9, 2025

Stearns met with the media shortly after Mendoza and noted that while the team would certainly explore the possibility of an external addition, he is generally comfortable with the internal options the Mets have at the moment.

"We'll see. I think we feel good about the guys we have in camp."

David Stearns was asked if the Mets will look outside the organization for catching help: pic.twitter.com/6ZFVTCIJTu

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 9, 2025

The Mets entered camp with only two catchers on their 40-man roster: Alvarez and Torrens. There are four non-roster invitees in camp behind the plate, but the only one with any major league experience is Jakson Reetz, who has played in eight big league games in his career.

Mets options for backup catcher behind Luis Torrens:

Jakson Reetz (8 major league games), Chris Williams (no ML experience, 38 Triple-A homers over last two season) and Hayden Senger (no ML experience, very strong glove).

None of them are on the 40-man roster.

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 9, 2025

With the start of the regular season a few weeks away, Stearns has time to give some of his internal options a look to see if anyone seizes an opportunity to start. There are some external options available as well, with the most notable name being 36-year-old Yasmani Grandal.

The Mets value defensive ability from their catchers, particularly pitch framing, and Grandal was actually a better framer than Alvarez in 2024 according to Baseball Savant. Both rated inside the Top 10 of the league, although it is fair to note that Grandal served as a backup on the Pittsburgh Pirates while Alvarez was the Mets' primary starter when healthy.

There is also a connection between Stearns and Grandal, the top baseball decision maker signed the veteran backstop to be the catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019. Grandal delivered a strong offensive season that year, hitting .246 with 28 home runs and 77 RBI, parlaying it into a multi-year free agent deal with the Chicago White Sox.

The 2024 season saw modest offensive production for Grandal, who hit .228 with nine home runs and 27 RBI in 243 at-bats, but his strong defensive contributions allowed him to produce a 0.6 bWAR for the Pirates behind the dish.

The other noteworthy free agent option is former Met James McCann, who did slightly better offensively than Grandal (.231/8/31) but rated far worse as a pitch framer than Grandal did, coming in 46th in Baseball Savant's 2024 rankings. Grandal was 8th, Alvarez finished 9th while Torrens (the new temporary starter) finished 23rd.

It is also possible that Stearns decides to wait things out to see if an intriguing option shakes loose on waivers when teams cut their rosters down at the end of spring training. Torrens arrived in Queens via a waiver claim last season so it is possible Stearns is eyeing this market as a temporary solution to serve as Torrens' backup.