WEST SACRAMENTO -- The catchers were able to catch up.
Mets backstops Luis Torrens and Francisco Alvarez previously met up in New York to talk shop, discussing several of the team¡¯s pitchers. But with Alvarez (fractured left hamate bone) now playing in Minor League rehab games and nearing a return to the lineup, the two haven¡¯t gotten together lately.
¡°Obviously, now that he¡¯s on his rehab assignment, we haven¡¯t been able to connect, but hopefully he comes back soon so we can reconnect,¡± Torrens said Sunday through a team interpreter.
Alvarez¡¯s impending return will certainly be welcomed, but Torrens has shown there¡¯s no need for the youngster to rush back.
In Sunday¡¯s 8-0 win over the Athletics, Torrens continued to hold things down in Alvarez¡¯s absence. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, a walk and the biggest hit of the ballgame: A two-out RBI single to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning.
¡°I felt really good,¡± Torrens said. ¡°The team¡¯s been helping me out a ton, and I¡¯ve been feeling a lot more comfortable this year.¡±
Now in his eighth Major League season, the 28-year-old Torrens has been all the Mets could ask for in 2025. He is 10-for-30 (.333) with a .942 OPS, he's made several key defensive plays and he's regarded as a strong game-caller behind the dish.
Just ask starter Kodai Senga, who tossed seven scoreless innings in Sunday¡¯s series finale at Sutter Health Park -- then credited Torrens for calling pitches that led to weak contact.
¡°The conversations we¡¯re having in the dugout between innings are great,¡± Senga said through a team interpreter. ¡°I think the more I throw to him, the more he¡¯s going to understand how I throw and the more I¡¯m going to understand him, so I think it¡¯s good chemistry.¡±
Acquired from the Yankees last May for cash considerations, Torrens got off to a good start with the Mets thanks to a two-homer game in just his fourth contest with the team. He had a serviceable .665 OPS in 130 plate appearances in 2024, but so far this season, he has left those numbers in the dust.
Torrens returned Friday from a four-game absence due to a right forearm contusion and promptly ripped an RBI double in his first at-bat. On Sunday, he singled and walked before punching the tiebreaking base hit into right field with two down in the sixth.
Including his ninth-inning double Sunday on a ball that A¡¯s center fielder Seth Brown lost in the sun, Torrens¡¯ four hits in the series went to left, center, right-center and right fields -- an impressive display for the right-handed hitter.
¡°He¡¯s not afraid to go the other way,¡± manager Carlos Mendoza said. ¡°He can impact the baseball and pull it when he wants to, but I think he¡¯s going to give you a good at-bat overall.¡±
Evidence of that included Torrens¡¯ seven-pitch walk in the fourth inning against Luis Severino, his former teammate in the Yankees organization as far back as 2013, when the two were teenagers. Even on Torrens' lone out of the day -- when he got jammed on a line drive to first base -- he still saw six pitches from reliever Jos¨¦ Leclerc.
Torrens has a hit in eight of the 11 games he¡¯s played this season, including a two-hit game with a homer on March 31 in Miami. Two days later against the Marlins, he saved the day with an acrobatic tag to keep the game tied in the eighth inning, then caught a runner stealing in the ninth.
He and rookie Hayden Senger -- known for his receiving, blocking and pitch-calling skills -- have been enough to keep the Mets not just afloat, but thriving after Alvarez fractured his hamate taking live at-bats at the Mets¡¯ complex in Spring Training. New York¡¯s catchers have a .286 average (sixth best in MLB) and a .776 OPS (ninth) so far this season.
¡°We¡¯ve seen it the whole year with them,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°Not only really good defensive catchers, but they¡¯re doing their part offensively.¡±
That¡¯s especially true of Torrens, who powered the Mets to their fourth straight series victory after losing two of three games in Houston to open the season.
It¡¯s hard to say what might happen once Alvarez returns and Torrens¡¯ playing time presumably decreases. But for now, the veteran is doing everything he can to power the Mets¡¯ offense.
¡°Torrens was pretty locked in this series,¡± A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay said. ¡°He¡¯s taken some really good at-bats. He¡¯s a tough out.¡±