New York Mets Assign Catcher With Feel-Good Story to Opening Day Roster

Catcher Hayden Senger brings top-level defensive skills to the major leagues.

New York Mets catcher Hayden Senger (98) poses for a photo during picture day at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Feb 20, 2025. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

At a Whole Foods somewhere, employees are celebrating.

Their offseason co-worker, Hayden Senger, is on the Opening Day roster of the New York Mets.

Senger, 27, has persevered. Taken by the Mets in the 24th round of the 2018 MLB Draft – the draft is only 20 rounds now – Senger spent six seasons in the minor leagues trying to fulfill his dream of making the big leagues, unsure this day would come.

He learned the news before the Mets departed their spring home, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

“I couldn’t really get words out. I was really excited,” Senger said, according to reporting from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “All the years that I put in kind of overwhelmed me. Pretty speechless.”

The Whole Foods Catcher made the Mets:https://t.co/Q8MwkMjyKy

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 26, 2025

The opening on the New York roster occurred when starting catcher Francisco Alvarez broke a bone in his left hand during spring training and required surgery. He is on a timeline to return to action in mid-April.

No. 2 catcher Luis Torrens will start, with Senger backing him up.

Senger’s time in the Big Apple could be short; he could wind up back at Triple-A Syracuse when Alvarez returns. But Senger has impressed the Mets’ brass on the defensive side of the ball, with David Stearns, the team’s president of baseball operations, telling MLB.com that Stearns is “an elite defensive catcher” who has the confidence of the pitching staff.

“It is a good story,” Stearns said. “He’s not getting the job because it’s a good story. He’s getting the job because we think he can help us win games.”

Senger is a career .235 hitter in the minors with 23 homers and 154 RBIs in 402 games. In 54 games at Syracuse, however, he has hit .253 against Triple-A pitching.

In 14 spring training games, he was 5-for-24 with a double, home run and two RBIs.

No matter what happens when Alvarez returns, Senger always will be able to say he reached the major leagues with the Mets.

“It feels worth it,” Senger said about his time spent getting there, per MLB.com. “There’s a lot of downtime, and a lot of times when I felt like I was on top of the world. It’s a roller coaster playing in the minor leagues for that long. To be here, it does make it all worth it.”

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