Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez set to begin rehab assignment, and 2B Jeff McNeil close behind

By Canadian Press on April 8, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez and second baseman Jeff McNeil are each set to take the next step in their recovery from injury.

Both players took batting practice Tuesday at Citi Field and are headed back to Florida to continue their progression. Alvarez will begin a rehabilitation assignment Wednesday with Class A St. Lucie. McNeil will take simulated at-bats with the hope of starting a rehab assignment this week at St. Lucie.

Alvarez has been sidelined since March 9 with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand that required surgery. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks.

“We’ll see. I think it’s going to come down to him catching back-to-back, hopefully nine innings, getting four or five at-bats,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday before a game against Miami. “But the progression starts kind of like spring training — five innings, off day, and then we’ll go from there. But the fact that he’s going to start playing games against real competition, that’s a good sign.”

McNeil also got hurt during spring training and began the season on the injured list. The two-time All-Star and 2022 major league batting champion is sidelined with a low-grade right oblique strain, and the timeline for his return remains a little unclear.

“Again, with these obliques, they’re tricky,” Mendoza said. “So we’ll continue to watch him, continue to monitor him and see how he responds once he starts playing games and starts facing arms where, not only the fastball but the breaking ball when you have to pull the trigger or make some swing decisions, we’ll see where we’re at.”

The 23-year-old Alvarez batted .237 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs in 100 games last season.

McNeil, who turned 33 on Tuesday, hit .238 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs. His right wrist was broken on Sept. 6 when hit by a pitch from Cincinnati’s Brandon Williamson, and McNeil returned for the National League Championship Series.

Without them, the Mets entered Tuesday with a 7-3 record and riding a five-game winning streak.

“Look, they are part of the everyday lineup. They went down in spring training and guys are getting their opportunities and doing a really good job of it. But it’s just going to continue to make our lineup a lot deeper,” Mendoza said. “When you’re talking about a right-handed hitter with power in Alvy and a left-handed hitter in Jeff, bat-to-ball skills, a batting average-type guy that can also drive the ball, it makes us deeper, it adds balance to our lineup.”

Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña have struggled at the plate while filling in for McNeil at second base. Luis Torrens got off to an excellent start in Alvarez’s place, but his bruised right forearm led to third-string rookie Hayden Senger making his fourth consecutive start at catcher Tuesday.

In another injury update, Mendoza said pitcher Sean Manaea (right oblique strain) is scheduled to get more imaging next week and will need to start “from zero” when he’s cleared to begin throwing again.

The team’s top starter last year, Manaea didn’t pitch during spring training. He was shut down in late February and recently had a setback in his recovery.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press

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