This season has not gone to plan for New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez. The young slugger has had a hard time staying healthy this year, and that started at the beginning of the season when he was placed on the IL with a fractured left hamate bone.
However, that has not been all. He has also torn his UCL, and that will require surgery, but not until after the season is over. He was also hit by a pitch on his left hand at the end of August, resulting in a broken pinky.
So, when Alvarez was hit on his left arm on Tuesday night with a 100 mph fastball from San Diego Padres rookie Bradgley Rodriguez, you could imagine how the club felt. He immediately bent down and clutched his arm.
Mets optimistic Francisco Alvarez avoided major injury after HBP Tuesday night
Francisco Alvarez was lifted for a pinch runner. He did not return to the game, but was back in the dugout with a large wrap around his arm. According to ESPN, manager Carlos Mendoza remains optimistic that his backstop avoided the worst.
"Looked like it didn't hit him in the elbow, it was more like the triceps muscle area," said Mendoza. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow, but as of right now, we're not planning on doing any X-rays or anything like that."
The team will monitor how he feels, but there are no plans to do any X-rays at the moment. This is great news as the Mets cannot afford to lose any key players with the postseason race as tight as it can be.