Alvarez hit again: Mets optimistic about his fitness

Francisco Álvarez Avoids Major Injury After Being Hit by Throw

Mets catcher Francisco Álvarez has dodged another injury, despite playing with a fractured left pinky finger and a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. On Tuesday night, Álvarez was hit on the upper left arm by a pitch. Álvarez, visibly affected, was hit by a 100 mph fastball from San Diego Padres pitcher Bradgley Rodríguez in the eighth inning of the game the Mets won 8-3. The 23-year-old player doubled over behind the plate and grabbed his left arm while slowly walking towards first base with manager Carlos Mendoza and a trainer. Although he was replaced by pinch runner Hayden Senger, Álvarez appeared in the Mets’ dugout minutes later, smiling and with a large bandage on his left arm. Subsequently, he joined the line of greetings after New York’s victory.

Mendoza indicated that Álvarez felt pain, but it was not expected that he would undergo imaging tests. “It seemed that it didn’t hit him in the elbow, but rather in the triceps area”, said Mendoza. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but for now, we don’t plan to do X-rays or anything like that”.

Carlos Mendoza

This is the third time in three weeks that Álvarez has been hit on the left arm or hand. His rehabilitation from the right thumb injury was interrupted on August 27 after he fractured his little finger when hit by a pitch while batting for the Triple-A Syracuse. Álvarez was also hit by a pitch from Cole Winn of the Texas Rangers on Saturday. New York is 1.5 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League wild card.