Mets star catcher avoids serious injury after another hit by pitch

The New York Mets’ 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday should have been all about celebration. Instead, hearts sank in the bottom of the eighth when Francisco Alvarez, the team’s young cornerstone behind the plate, crumpled in pain after being drilled in the left arm by a 100 mph fastball.

For a brief moment, Citi Field went silent. The Mets have been battling to keep their season afloat, and the sight of Alvarez clutching his arm felt like a cruel twist of fate. Given his laundry list of injuries this year, it almost felt inevitable — like watching a glass figurine wobble on the edge of a shelf.

A season defined by pain and perseverance

Alvarez’s 2025 campaign has been a patchwork of grit and bad luck. He’s currently playing through a sprained UCL in his right thumb and a broken left pinky, both injuries that would sideline most players for weeks. Earlier in the spring, he also overcame hamate bone surgery plus being optioned to the minors.

For someone so young, Alvarez has already built a reputation for toughness, but the number of “freak” injuries he’s endured this year has been staggering. Getting hit by pitches has become an unsettling theme, and Tuesday’s incident only added to the pattern.

Mets breathe sigh of relief

Thankfully for the Mets, the early word from the clubhouse is encouraging. According to team insider Anthony DiComo, Alvarez appears to have avoided anything serious. The Mets currently have no plans to place him on the injured list, and they don’t even intend to send him for X-rays — a sign of just how confident they are that the damage is minimal.

Manager Carlos Mendoza offered some reassurance as well. “It got him pretty good, but it didn’t look like it got him in the elbow,” Mendoza said postgame. “It was more like the triceps muscle area.”

Signs of resilience despite pain

After the final out, cameras caught Alvarez laughing with teammates in the dugout, an image that stood in stark contrast to the anguish he showed moments after the pitch from Padres reliever Bradgley Rodriguez struck him. Ice was wrapped around his arm, and the pain was still etched on his face, but the fact that he was even smiling suggested the Mets might have dodged a bullet.

Alvarez immediately exited the game after the hit-by-pitch, with Hayden Senger stepping in to finish catching duties. Even so, the mood in the clubhouse seemed far from grim.

Looking ahead in the Padres series

The Mets will monitor Alvarez closely on Wednesday, but optimism is running high. There’s a chance he could miss a game or two, yet it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s back in the lineup as soon as the second game of the series against San Diego on Wednesday.

Alvarez has posted a .766 OPS this season, offering consistent production in the bottom of the order. Keeping his bat — and his leadership — in the lineup could be pivotal as the Mets push forward.

For now, it seems Francisco Alvarez has once again walked away from a brush with disaster, bruised but unbroken.