Francisco Álvarez Optioned to Minors
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
The New York Mets have reported catchers Francisco Álvarez and Nick Meyer have been cut from major league camp. Álvarez has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, and Meyer has been reassigned to minor league camp.
Entering spring training, Álvarez said it was his goal to make the Opening Day roster. However, with the Mets wanting him to continue to work on his defense behind the plate and the Omar Narváez signing this offseason, the odds were stacked against him.
Álvarez was also held back by offseason ankle surgery. As a result, the team has brought him along slowly this spring. Buck Showalter has been impressed with his work this spring saying of him, “He has the skills to say when, not if…We think Francisco has the chance to not only be a quality player, but a quality teammate. That’s the constant thing you hear is how much pitchers love to throw to him and how engaged he is.”
On the “when, not if” part of Showalter’s statement, he is making clear the organization believes Álvarez can be strong behind the plate, but he is not there yet. On that front, one important consideration with Álvarez is he has never caught more than 80 games in a season.
While fans were pushing for him to make the team as a platoon option at designated hitter, the organization had more interest in developing Álvarez, the top catching prospect in the game, into a player capable of being their starting option behind the plate at the major league level
In addition to Álvarez being cut, Meyer was as well. Meyer, 26, was the Mets sixth round draft pick in the 2018 draft out of California Polytechnic State University.
When Meyer was drafted by the Mets, he was known for three things: (1) his defense behind the plate; (2) his mustache; and (3) his being born with two left thumbs. Meyer has been as advertised behind the plate, and his hitting has been better than expected.
Last season, Meyer split time between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. Over 79 games, he hit .233/.355/.353 with 10 doubles, one triple, six homers, and 37 RBI. He was successful in 14 of 18 stolen base attempts.
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