The New York Mets may have lost another valuable position player.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza described Francisco Alvarez’s injury as something that “didn’t look good” after the catcher left Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers due to an apparent knee injury.
Alvarez injured his right knee after taking a huge swing on a foul ball in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mendoza came out to check on his young catcher, and Alvarez exited the game and was scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday.
In 112 at-bats, Alvarez is slashing .241/.317/.393 with four home runs over 37 games with the Mets this season.
Carlos Mendoza: Francisco Alvarez’s Injury ‘Didn’t Look Good’
The Mets are battling injuries up and down the roster, which has exacerbated their awful start to 2026.
So with the Mets ahead 3-2, after Alvarez had already both driven in a run on a fielder’s choice and scored a run after a fourth-inning double off Detroit starter Jack Flaherty, his huge swing left the Mets down a catcher for at least the rest of the night.
“It didn’t look good on that swing, obviously,” Mendoza said. “We saw it right away and came out. We’ve got to wait.”
Luis Torrens took over for Alvarez, and worked a walk as part of a three-run frame that broke the game open in the Mets’ 10-2 win. According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, Alvarez declined comment on the injury and wanted to wait for confirmation of his injury to address it.
But the injury marks another in a long line of ailments that have plagued the still-just 24-year-old catcher.
Alvarez hasn’t played in more than 123 games in any single season since becoming a full-time player in 2023. He battled a broken hamate bone in his hand in 2024 and lost time late last season after a torn UCL in his thumb and broken right pinkie.
Alvarez’s is the Latest in a Long Line of Mets Injuries
The 2026 Mets might as well be known as the walking wounded.
If he lands on the injured list, Alvarez would join fellow position players Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco and pitcher Kodai Senga on the IL.
The Mets updated Lindor’s calf strain Tuesday, saying he was due to have an MRI this week. The Mets offered a more alarming update Tuesday on Robert’s injury, a herniated disc in his lumbar spine.
Like Robert, Polanco, who is battling both wrist soreness and Achilles tendon bursitis, is also in a holding pattern to return from his injuries.
Robert, Alvarez, Lindor and Polanco were expected to be top-to-middle-of-the-lineup hitters for the Mets this year. But the injuries have limited Robert, Lindor and Polanco to just 234 at-bats through the season’s first six weeks.
Robert and Polanco were offseason additions who combined to hit 40 home runs in 2025. Yet Robert has only 98 plate appearances, and Polanco has just 56 at-bats and suited up for just 14 games — and hasn’t played in a month.
As a result, the Mets are 29th in the majors in runs (149) and are last in the majors in OPS (.634).
Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza Shares Francisco Alvarez Concern After Injury in Tigers Game