Francisco Alvarez, the Mets' top prospect, was a late-season call-up in 2022, a hopeful injection of offense to a catching position that offered little of it between James McCann and Tomas Nido.
Does that mean Alvarez will be the likely starter in 2023? Billy Eppler says not so fast.
"He's got to earn his way on the roster," Eppler said. "We'll see and he'll get an opportunity to do that.
"As we're constituted right now, we have Tomas Nido entering arbitration and James McCann under contract. How our roster sits right now and the flexibility some of our players bring that are on that 26-man roster, we can carry three catchers. That's something that could happen."
Starting a season with three catchers on the roster is not common, but McCann has struggled throughout his Mets tenure since signing a four-year contract, and Alvarez is expected to turn into a big bat that can give New York some much-needed power in the middle of the lineup. If three catchers becomes a necessity in the eyes of the Mets, Eppler believes they have the flexibility on the roster to make it a useful endeavor.
"If you did want to diversify their skillsets a bit, if one is particular offensive and one is particularly defensive, that's a complement you can do," Eppler said. "We could carry that largely because of players like [Luis] Guillorme and [Jeff] McNeil, players that can serve multi-purpose."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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