If at some point Francisco Alvarez is down to nubs for hands, count on the slugger using tape and glue to affix a bat to one of his limbs.
With a torn UCL ligament in his right thumb that requires surgery and with a broken pinkie on his left hand, Alvarez was back on the field taking batting practice — and launching home runs into right-center and rocketing would-be doubles off the left field wall — while looking like himself, albeit with a guard on his right hand.
“There’s no hesitation,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets topped the Marlins 19-9 on Friday. “He’s not favoring anything. He’s letting it go. From what I saw today, he looks like a normal player.”
The 23-year-old broke his pinkie upon being drilled in his first rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, met with doctors Thursday and wasted no time upon receiving clearance.
“As soon as the doctor gave him the OK,” Mendoza said, “the first thing he said was like, ‘All right. Can I go hit now?’
“And sure enough, 10 minutes later, he was in the cages taking hacks.’”
After several rounds of BP on Friday, Alvarez ran the bases, then retrieved catching gear to catch a bullpen session.
Defensively, his left hand — which lacks a useful pinkie — needs to prove it can withstand the rigors of routinely catching heat that surely hurts. His right hand needs to prove it can throw without the aid of a thumb, which Alvarez has acknowledged can be awkward. Catching and strategy coach Glenn Sherlock watched Alvarez catch a bullpen session Thursday and came away impressed.
The Mets still are waiting to see how Alvarez’s hands recover before greenlighting a resumption of his rehab assignment, but the early returns have been eye-opening.
“I’ve never seen anybody like him,” Sherlock said.
Tylor Megill will receive at least one more rehab start.
Recovering from a right elbow sprain, Megill made a fourth minor league start Thursday, when he walked four and allowed three runs in four innings over 70 pitches with Triple-A Syracuse.
Jesse Winker (back) went 0-for-3 as DH in his second rehab game with Low-A St. Lucie. He was replaced by Jose Siri (fractured tibia) as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning. In his own second rehab game, Siri went 2-for-2.
Brett Baty started at second base, Tyrone Taylor in center field and Starling Marte at DH on a day Jeff McNeil got a breather.
Mendoza said the break was normal for McNeil during a stretch of 16 games in 16 days. McNeil’s shoulder was banged up last week, which led to more days at DH and in the infield, but Mendoza said the shoulder is fine.
First base coach Antoan Richardson was honored before the game with Guardian’s “Everyday Champion Award,” which “highlights those who make a meaningful difference in their communities, inspire well-being in others and show up when needed most.”
Richardson runs a nonprofit that helps youth in the Bahamas pursue their athletic and academic passions
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
