Francisco Alvarez was sent back down to Triple-A on Wednesday, and Mets manager Buck Showalter seemed to indicate that the team’s top prospect would not be in the majors until September, if at all this season.
For Alvarez, being optioned to the minors a week before Opening Day will have to be an opportunity to get in more consistent work to make sure that the next time he gets the call, it’s for good.
“The first thing that came to mind was that I needed to go back down there and work hard and prove myself so they can call me back up eventually,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez saw brief time in the majors down the stretch of last season, but struggled at the plate this spring. The Mets have also made it a priority for Alvarez to improve on his defense behind the plate, as they would like for him to be big-league ready at catcher as well as at the plate, and don’t want him to be used as a DH so early in his career.
Alvarez believes he is on track to satisfy those wishes, though it is unclear when he will get another chance to prove it at the major league level.
“Defensively I felt like I was improving, and I want to continue improving there,” Alvarez said. “My bat wasn't excelling the way I was expecting it to, but I trust in it. But I think going down there is going to help me to get the reps that I need and get that experience to eventually come back up and succeed.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play W-F-A-N’)