ANAHEIM — Francisco Alvarez is learning about how fickle performance can be in the big leagues.
The second-year catcher absolutely mashed in June after returning from an injured list stint with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, hitting .375 with a 1.123 OPS, five doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. But Alvarez cooled considerably in July, hitting just .200 with a .578 OPS, four extra-base hits and one home run in 19 more plate appearances (57 PAs in June, 76 in July). He struck out 23 times last month and grounded into three double plays.
Over his last 10 games, Alvarez has hit just .111 with 10 strikeouts in 38 plate appearances.
The Mets saw this from him during his rookie season when dismal numbers in June hurt his NL Rookie of the Year prospects and a .139 average in August dropped him from the running all together. Streaks happen, but what the Mets want him to learn is how to make them shorter.
“It’s part of being a baseball player at the big league level,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday at Angel Stadium. “You’ll go through some stretches where it’s hard and then you’re going to go through some stretches where you’re feeling pretty good and you’re having results. It’s about trying to keep those stretches shorter, especially when things are not going your way.”
Alvarez was given a day off Saturday and returned to the lineup Sunday. He went 1-for-5 in the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, making solid contact with an RBI single.
“I feel better,” Alvarez said.
The backstop was also dealing with a sore shoulder last weekend, though he said it’s not bothering him at the plate at the moment. The Mets were encouraged by the contact he made Friday night against left-hander Tyler Anderson and his at-bats over the last week, even if his timing has been late.
“I like his at bats as of late,” Mendoza said. “The past couple of games they’ve been better, definitely. And then he was dealing with a left shoulder too, you know. Not trying to make excuses for him, but he was playing through some of that. But like I said, the past couple of games, better at-bats for sure.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Right-handed relievers Reed Garrett and Sean Reid-Foley made rehab appearances for Double-A Binghamton on Sunday. Garrett (elbow inflammation) didn’t have great results, facing six hitters and getting only one out while taking the loss. He gave up three earned runs on four hits, walked one and struck out one, throwing 25 pitches.
Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) fared somewhat better, but he did walk three of the five hitters he faced. He managed to get two outs without allowing a run and also threw 25 pitches.
Typically, the Mets would emphasize process over results with rehab assignments, but the club does want to see some results from the two before they return to the big leagues, but especially with Reid-Foley given that he’s had two shoulder impingements this season.
“We want to see how the ball is coming out of his hand and how he’s going to bounce back,” Mendoza said. “We’re going to need him when he gets here to go back-to-back, go one-plus (innings). He’s been dealing with this the whole year pretty much. He went down in spring training in the beginning of the year. So yeah, we want to see a little bit of both.”
Right-hander Dedniel Nuñez (right pronator strain) started playing catch over the weekend.
Outfielder Starling Marte (right knee) ran the bases for the first time Sunday without any pain. He’s also been hitting in the cages and running in the outfield and is able to cut, run and move laterally without aggravating his knee.
Marte will travel to Port St. Lucie to continue his rehab Sunday afternoon when the Mets depart for St. Louis.
UP NEXT
Next up in a strange, winding road trip for the Mets is a makeup game in St. Louis on Monday afternoon. The club will then travel to Denver for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.