The Mets extended their winning streak to five on Friday night, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-4.
Despite picking up the win, it was not all sunshine and rainbows for the blue and orange, as one of their young stars got forced to leave with a thumb injury.
Francisco Álvarez is heading to the 15-day injured list
Francisco Álvarez came up for his first at-bat of the day in the top of the second and hit a dribbler in front of home plate that catcher Will Smith fired over the head of Freddie Freeman at first base and into right field.
Álvarez stumbled rounding first base, and his hand connected with the dirt before recovering and sliding safely into second. As soon as he completed the slide, he began checking on his hand and swiftly exited the game, being replaced by Omar Narváez.
Postgame Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed that the organization was concerned with Álvarez, and he was in substantial pain.
The blue and orange released a statement this morning saying they have placed Alvarez on the 15-day IL with a left thumb sprain.
Mendoza then stated in his media availability today that the 22-year-old is still undergoing testing, so the true extent of the injury is yet to be known.
Álvarez is slashing .236/.288.364 with one home run and eight RBIs through 16 games this season.
Who is coming up for Álvarez?
Taking Álvarez’s spot on the roster is a name that Mets fans are extremely familiar with: Tomás Nido.
Nido has been with the Mets organization since the blue and orange selected him in the eighth round of the 2012 MLB draft. The Puerto Rico native has appeared in 274 games for the Mets but has been with Triple-A Syracuse since clearing waivers last June.
In nine games with Syracuse this season, Nido is slashing .345/.345/.517 with one home run and two RBIs.
What does this mean for the Mets?
With Álvarez out, Narváez will take over the primary catching duties, with Nido as his backup.
While the Mets will certainly miss having Álvarez’s bat in the lineup, the more significant loss arguably could be the 22-year-old not being behind the plate.
The Venezuela native has helped the Mets pitching staff to a 3.08 team ERA, which is sixth in baseball.
Hopefully, Álvarez is not out past his initial 15-day stint on the IL. However, if he is set to miss a substantial amount of time, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns will have a crucial decision to make whether to acquire reinforcements or let the position be filled internally.