Aug 16, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens (13) hits a two-run home run during the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — Luis Torrens has been the Mets’ superior catcher of late, but interim manager Andy Green does not have any plans of giving the backup backstop the lion’s share of playing time over the slumping Francisco Alvarez down the stretch.
“I think we’re still going to see Alvy out there very consistently,” Green said. “A lot of these games against right-handed pitching, we’ve seen Alvy get the DH at-bats, and Torrens get the opportunity to catch on those days. I think both of those guys are going to continue to see the field quite a bit as we wrap up this season.”
Torrens has been the more consistent option for the better part of the last six weeks. Since July 12 (19 games), he is batting .315 with a 1.069 OPS, six home runs, and 15 RBI.
That’s a 162-game pace of 51 home runs and 127 RBI.
Of course, Torrens has shown in his three years with the Mets that he cannot be the No. 1, everyday catcher — the latest example coming earlier this season when he posted a .638 OPS in 22 games while Alvarez recovered from a torn meniscus in his right knee.
“There’s a whole host of players, if they get occasional rest, they tend to be optimized and a better version of themselves,” Green said. “So I think a player tends to look at it through the lens of ‘run me out there, and I’ll be really, really good.’ But it’s very fair to say that we see a lot of guys benefit from not being out there every single day.”
And that is why Alvarez is going to get his fair share of playing time through the final month of the season despite batting .138 with a .503 OPS in his previous 20 games.
“Alvy obviously has gone through a stretch where he hasn’t swung the bat the way he has traditionally, but he’s really received well,” Green said. “If you’re looking under the hood, and what he’s doing behind the plate, he’s been really good for us over the two months that I have been here. So we have two guys that, maybe when you look at the receiving metrics that are public, don’t quite capture how well Alvy’s done over the last couple of months, and Luis is obviously very good back there.
“So still believe immensely in Alvy’s upside. He’s still going to get a lot of at-bats. Luis has been seeing consistent playing time, not at the everyday level, but he’ll continue to get that.”
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