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Try it freeCINCINNATI — Down two fingers, Francisco Alvarez is getting a thumbs-up from the Mets.
The catcher will be activated from the injured list before Friday’s series opener against the Reds, a source said Thursday, having completed a rehab assignment that began with a sprained UCL in his right thumb and continued even after fracturing his left pinkie.
His thumb eventually will need surgery, and his pinkie — on the receiving hand that sustains so much impact for catchers — could use some rest, but the 23-year-old appears to be on a mission to return and help the club.
Alvarez required five rehab games with Triple-A Syracuse in total — four after the hit-by-pitch that broke his pinkie — to prove to the Mets he can withstand the pain, still be effective and reclaim his catching spot.
In the five games, he went 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts and a grand slam that he launched Wednesday.
He has been swinging compromised with a thumb injury whose surgery carries a return timeline of around six to eight weeks, so he has been determined to put it off until after the season.
He has adapted his throw without much use of his thumb, which opposing teams surely will test on the basepaths.
He has been swinging and catching compromised with a pinkie that sustained a “small fracture,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, after which Alvarez met with doctors.
Hours after receiving the green light to continue baseball activities, Alvarez was back in the batting cage and swinging with authority.
He broke a finger two Wednesdays ago and was in the Syracuse lineup the following Saturday.
It is unclear what version of Alvarez the Mets are activating.
After a delayed start to his season because of a fractured left hamate bone during spring training, Alvarez returned without much power or success and was sent back to Syracuse in June.
He returned about a month later and was overwhelming for a 21-game span in which he posted a 1.054 OPS before hurting his thumb sliding into second.
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With less than four weeks to go during a playoff push, the Mets know they are at least getting a gutsy Alvarez.
“It’s pretty remarkable what he’s doing,” Mendoza said last week.