Buck Showalter said Francisco Alvarez’s right hand continued to be in good shape after being drilled on the outside of the hand by a Pablo Lopez pitch against the Twins on Sunday.
“We think we’re OK,’’ the manager said of Alvarez, who didn’t play in Monday’s 4-3 loss to Arizona at Citi Field.
Showalter said Alvarez did not undergo further imaging after X-rays were negative Sunday and they determined he could play if needed.
Alvarez is among the group of rookies currently in the midst of a rough period with the Mets.
The catcher is hitting just .146 (12-for-82) with two doubles, a homer and an OPS of .478 in his last 28 games since Aug. 4.
Brett Baty is hitless in his last 14 at-bats and 4-for-28 with no extra-base hits and nine strikeouts in nine games since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
Mark Vientos is in the midst of a 1-for-15 skid with seven strikeouts in four games that dropped his OPS to .570.
“We’ve got 20 games [left],’’ Showalter said before the game. “It will be interesting to see where it all ends up. You don’t want to see anybody go through failures, but in the long run what [they] are going through … It’ll be good to see how they come through it. This is the best level there is.”
Showalter added Baty was dealing with a “twinge physically,” which led to him being in the lineup at DH, with Vientos at third base.
“I don’t want Mark to get too far away from third base,” said Showalter, who also praised Baty’s defense since he’s been back in Queens.
At this rate, there might be more interest for Mets fans at Double-A Binghamton than at Citi Field.
Jett Williams, the team’s No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was promoted to Binghamton on Monday from High-A Brooklyn.
The 19-year-old was the team’s first-round pick last year (14th overall) and began the season with Low-A St. Lucie.
Williams has split his time between shortstop and center field.
He’ll join a roster that will include three first-round picks from 2022, along with Kevin Parada and Drew Gilbert, as well as four of the organization’s top five prospects: Luisangel Acuna, Gilbert, Williams and Parada.
Another former Mets’ first-round pick, Pete Crow-Armstrong, was reportedly being called up to the majors by the Cubs.
The 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Crow-Armstrong, now 21, was traded to Chicago in 2021 in exchange for Javier Baez.
DJ Stewart doubled in the sixth and has 15 extra-base hits in his last 19 games. … Showalter made a bit of a case for Kodai Senga when asked about the NL Cy Young Award race, noting the “challenges he’s facing” in his first year in the majors.