Mets' Alvarez to have right knee surgery, Mendoza hopes catcher could return in 6-8 weeks

NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Alvarez needs surgery to repair a torn right meniscus in his right knee, and New York manager Carlos Mendoza hopes his starting catcher could return in six-to-eight weeks following his fourth trip to the injured list since the start of 2024.

Alvarez was hurt when he fouled off a pitch in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

“You feel for him. You feel for the person, for the human,” Mendoza said Wednesday. “He hasn’t gotten that run of playing everyday, going through struggles, find a way to get through it and keep going. For him, the past three years, he’s always been injured. He struggles, he gets hot, but then he gets hurt and misses significant time.”

Alvarez missed 45 games from April to June in 2024 because of a sprained left thumb, the first 25 games of 2025 with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and 16 games last August and September because of a sprained right thumb.

He is hitting .241 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 37 games. The Mets placed him on the 10-day injured list and recalled Hayden Senger from Triple-A Syracuse.

Luis Torrens and Senger will split time behind the plate in Alvarez's absence.

Alvarez is the Mets' 12th player currently on the injured list, joining right-handers Reed Garrett (Tommy John surgery), Justin Hagenman (fractured rib), Tylor Megill (sprained right elbow), Dedniel Nunez (Tommy John surgery) and Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation); left-hander A.J. Minter (left lat surgery); shortstop Francisco Lindor (strained left calf); infielders Ronny Mauricio (broken left thumb), Jorge Polanco (bruised right wrist) and Jared Young (torn left meniscus); and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disk herniation).

In addition, All-Star outfielder Juan Soto missed 15 games last month because of a strained right calf.

“My job is to get the best out of them today,” Mendoza said. “If I’m worrying about when is this guy going to get back or are we going to be able to put the whole band together — that’s not going to help us. Our job is to go out there and find a way to get the job done.”

Senga thew at Citi Field on Wednesday. Young could start a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment this weekend.

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