New York Mets Catcher Has Surgery, Gets Timeline For Recovery

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is on the mend after successful thumb surgery and he has a tentative timeline for recovery.

Apr 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez had successful surgery on his thumb on Tuesday, according to a report from MLB.com.

Alvarez underwent the surgery in Los Angeles, where he suffered the injury during the Mets’ weekend series with the Dodgers.

The surgery was to repair the torn UCL in his left thumb. With the successful surgery, manager Carlos Mendoza was comfortable giving the media a firmer timeline on the young slugger’s return as New York continued their road trip in San Francisco in Tuesday.

"We're looking at eight weeks because of the position he plays, obviously, and it's the left thumb -— the receiving [thumb] as a catcher," Mendoza said.

That puts him on a timeline to return in late June. In the meantime, Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido will handle catching duties.

The 22-year-old was batting .236 with a .288 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage in his first 16 games, with one home run and eight RBI.

But in his past seven game his offense took a downward turn, as he batted just .174 with no home runs and four RBI.

Alvarez is coming off his first full season during which he hit 25 home runs and 63 RBI, but only slashed .209/.284/.437/.721 after a hot start.

Narváez, the 32-year-old left-handed hitting veteran from Venezuela, has started 11 games this season and is batting .207 with three RBI.

The Mets called Nido back up on April 20 to back up Narváez. The 30-year-old bats from the right side and has played in three MLB games so far this season. He’s been with New York his entire career, which started in 2017.