DENVER — Francisco Alvarez has been a great addition to pitching staffs this season, but he’s lacking the offensive numbers for which he’s made a name for himself.
The Mets catcher entered Tuesday’s game batting .263/.327/.419, which are the numbers most teams want from their starting catcher.
But Alvarez hit just five home runs in 186 at-bats on the day, well behind the pace he hit last season when he hit 25 home runs in 382 at-bats as a 21-year-old rookie.
The obvious answer is that Alvarez is injured.
He had surgery in April to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, which forced him to miss a month and a half, and he’s been playing through a sore left shoulder in recent days, but Alvarez wouldn’t say whether his health is a factor in his offensive decline.
“There’s no excuses,” Alvarez said Tuesday before the Mets began a three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field.
Alvarez entered the game having hit just one home run in his previous 90 at-bats, which came on July 26 against the Braves at Citi Field.
In July, his batting average was just .200 and his OPS was just .577.
Alvarez’s walk rate is up from last season and his strikeout numbers are down, but a notable stat is his hard-hit rate, down from 45.1 percent to 40.1 percent.
“Right now, I want to step back a little bit and not go after the slider,” Alvarez said. “I was going for the up pitch and he threw me a down slider.”
The numbers back up Alvarez’s claim: He had a .535 slugging percentage against fastballs to start the game, but that number was a poor .282 against curveballs.
“I think his timing is a little bit off,” coach Carlos Mendoza said. “When he’s late, he’s not putting himself in a position where he can do damage. Mechanics-wise, you can see that. But when you check his thumb, his left shoulder. [issue] And none of that has affected his power. He’s still going to go out there and have good at-bats, so I’m not worried.”
If the blackout was bothering Alvarez, it didn’t show to the manager.
“He’s the same guy,” Mendoza said. “He wants to win.”
Much of Alvarez’s slump has come at a time when Brandon Nimmo is trying to bounce back, and Pete Alonso, despite some nudges over the past week, hasn’t come close to hitting expected power numbers.
Jose Iglesias has hit well but is closer to average in his first six weeks in a Mets uniform, but the Mets are thriving thanks to the performance of Jeff McNeil.
The Mets began the day 1.5 games out of the third wild card spot in the National League.
Alvarez said he will be doing his job if the Mets’ pitchers are ready and the team keeps winning.
“The most important thing is we’re winning this fight, and that’s the most important thing: keep winning,” Alvarez said.
“I’m focused on pitching and the best thing I can do is play a good game. When I’m batting and attacking, I have my plan. If I can’t do that, [execute] I have to pitch as catcher in the next innings as well, so I have to keep going.”
With nearly two months still remaining in the regular season, Alvarez said there is still momentum to be had offensively.
“We’ve got two more months,” Alvarez said, “and then we’re in the playoffs, so maybe three more.”
