New York Mets Option Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A

The Mets have optioned top prospect catcher Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A.

The Mets' top prospect will not be making the big-league club out of Spring Training.

On Wednesday, the Mets optioned Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, halting his chances of making the Opening Day roster to start the regular season. 

The 21-year-old is the Mets' No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 ranked prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. However, Alvarez struggled in Grapefruit League play, going just 3-for-28.

Despite having lofty expectations as a top prospect, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Alvarez to make the club out of camp with the Mets carrying veteran catchers Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido.

“He’s not a guy you’d like sitting around as a backup catcher, but we could go that direction,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said of Alvarez on Wednesday. “We feel good that he’s going to be able to carry the load if and when he comes up.”

Showalter said he doesn't care what Alvarez hits in the minors this year. He instead wants to see the catcher take additional strides behind the plate.

Selfishly, Showalter wouldn't mind seeing Alvarez stick in Triple-A all season because that would mean Nido and Narvaez are healthy and performing well.

"I hope so, in some ways. That means that we're doing real well and our catchers are healthy and doing well," Showalter said about Alvarez possibly remaining in the minors all year. "I hope that's the case. He's got a chance to be called up in September.

"Anything else I said would be promoting the failure or the health of one of the guys that we have. And we like our two guys. They're in the top seven or eight of catching in baseball. We're lucky to have both of them. I hope at some point Francisco is as good as they are."

There is also a possibility that Alvarez gets called up to serve as the DH at some point in 2023. That said, the Mets won't just use him as a sole DH; He would need to catch on a part-time basis as well. 

Alvarez made his big-league debut in the final week of the 2022 season. He was also on the Mets' Wild Card roster.

In the minors, Alvarez slashed .260/.374/.511 with 27 homers, 22 doubles, and 78 RBI in 112 games between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.

Read More:

- Francisco Lindor on Edwin Diaz Injury: 'I Couldn't Stop Crying'

- Mets Reliever David Robertson on Pitch Clock: ‘Get rid of it’

- Mets' Brandon Nimmo Believes He'll be Ready for Opening Day

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.