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NextImg:Francisco Alvarez showing flashes as he tries to fix ‘new version’ of swing after Mets demotion

Mets pitching is getting healthy, and the club has started to win games again, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that their one-time catcher of the future remains in the minors.

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Francisco Alvarez has shown signs of the power that made him so valuable before it vanished and got him sent back to Triple-A Syracuse last month after going through a 26-game stretch lowlighted by a .588 OPS.

Since then, the 23-year-old has flashed some power in the minors, although the ability to hit to all fields still eludes him since altering his swing in the offseason.

“He’s always had power. It’s just a matter of getting his swing back,’’ Triple-A Syracuse manager Dick Scott said Monday. “I will say, he’s been working really hard on both offense and defense to try to make some adjustments to make it back to the big leagues, and when he does, maybe he’s more prepared with what he has to do.”

Alvarez opened plenty of eyes when he hit 25 homers as a rookie in 2023 before his production slipped.

Francisco Alvarez has hit four homers in his past seven games for Triple-A Syracuse. AP

“He’s getting back to some of the things that worked a couple years ago,’’ Scott said. “He’s come down with a great attitude.”

That’s resulted in Alvarez going 8-for-27 with four homers in his past seven games, along with 10 strikeouts.

It comes after Alvarez revamped his swing in the offseason and then fractured the hamate bone in his left hand in March, which impacted his spring training and the early part of the regular season.

“I think he’s still going with the new version [of his swing], but one thing is he’s trying to keep the ball in the middle of the field more and not pulling off balls,’’ Scott said.

Alvarez’s metrics weren’t that much worse than they were when he was a promising young hitter, but the results continued a downward trend before he was optioned.

Since then, the Mets have played well, but the combination of Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger has been unimpressive, and it’s not a duo that a playoff-contending team can use for an extended period.

Francisco Alvarez was hitting .236 with three homers before his demotion to Triple-A Syracuse. AP

“He’s searching for a little consistency and having better at-bats,’’ Scott said. “It’s not necessarily showing up yet, and he has a little ways to go. But it’s encouraging, and he feels better at the plate. Hopefully, it’s not too much longer. Sometimes, it takes a couple at-bats to get where you want.”

“I think he will get that back,’’ Scott said of the production Alvarez showed as a rookie. “He’s a good player and works really hard.”


And he believes the minor league setting will benefit Alvarez.

“You want to first give space and not smother him with new ideas,’’ Scott said. “Sometimes, you have to reset and unplug from that level [in the majors], where you don’t have the daily pressure you do up there and you’re allowed to work on things.”

Francisco Alvarez (right, with Edwin Diaz) has been working on his defense in the minors. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Scott said Alvarez’s catching has been solid, and he looks more confident at the plate.

“He’s still trying to incorporate that new swing and just trying to tie it all together,’’ Scott said. “It’s hard to make swing changes in the offseason when you’re not playing in games, and then the broken hamate bone made it even more difficult. He’s a good hitter. He just has to get back to that.”