SAN DIEGO — To say that Francisco Alvarez has earned extra enjoying time can be an understatement. The Mets’ rookie backstop way back earned the belief of the pitching employees and he’s had one of the precious bats all through the group’s profitable week, coming into Sunday having hit .423 with a 1.464 OPS over his final seven video games.
He’s confronted a heavy workload this just lately, having began 21 of the Mets’ final 24 video games since June 9. The Mets had beforehand deliberate to separate time considerably evenly between Omar Narvaez and Alvarez, however Alvarez has been too good to sit down. However, the group remains to be cautious with regards to overloading a 21-year-old that performs a taxing place.
But with the All-Star break coming Monday, the Mets determined to offer Alvarez another begin Sunday towards the San Diego Padres.
“We obviously wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t have four days off,” supervisor Buck Showalter stated Sunday earlier than the Mets performed their last sport of the primary half at Petco Park. “He’s handled it well.”
Finding spots for Narvaez has been robust, although he has been understanding in regards to the state of affairs, realizing that Alvarez’s bat within the lineup is what’s finest for the group.
“I’ve talked to Omar a lot and he’s been good,” Showalter stated. “He knows that Alvy has performed at a high level, but he’s got a lot of personal and professional pride too. This guy is a good player and there will come a time here when we’ll be glad we’ve got him.”
This was not how the Mets drew it up. Narvaez was in line to get the majority of the time behind the plate when the season began with Tomas Nido taking the remainder. But Narvaez’s calf damage pressured the Mets to name up Alvarez and as soon as he returned, they designated Nido for project. The homegrown backstop remains to be with the group, however solely hitting .195 in Triple-A, so the Mets’ big-league catching state of affairs isn’t going to alter anytime quickly.
There had been occasions when Alvarez regarded overmatched within the Major Leagues however proved to be a fast research. Baserunners have been a problem for him (he’s thrown out eight of fifty runners), however the Mets haven’t seen it have an effect on his confidence. Showalter has usually pointed to new guidelines that favor runners and base stealers and acknowledged that it’s a tough time to be a younger catcher, however the Mets are regularly working with him to maintain his confidence up.
“One of the challenges with catchers today that throw well is to not lose their confidence with the stolen bases,” Showalter stated. “I’ve seen catchers now rushing on every throw. They do things mechanically that they would never do because they’re so far behind when they get the baseball. There’s a feel you have with the runner when he breaks for first base. You know when you have to hurry and know when you don’t.”
The Mets may DH Alvarez extra usually within the second half to offer Narvaez extra enjoying time and get Alvarez elevated time with catching coach Glenn Sherlock within the bullpen. The group thought of doing that right this moment however as an alternative determined to make use of reserve outfielder DJ Stewart because the DH as an alternative to get him right into a sport earlier than the break.
ROTATION PLANS
The Mets will begin Justin Verlander towards the Los Angeles Dodgers within the first sport after the break and Max Scherzer will pitch the ultimate sport of the collection. The center sport remains to be in query with Kodai Senga going to the MLB All-Star Game, but when he doesn’t pitch within the sport then he may nonetheless be an possibility. Otherwise, the Mets are contemplating right-hander Carlos Carrasco for that Saturday begin.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Left-hander Jose Quintana is about to throw a simulated sport Thursday, however he hasn’t returned to Queens simply but. He made his last rehab begin with Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday in Worcester, Mass., with what the Mets assume is the flu. The group is having him keep in Worcester for a day or two to get better.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com