3 realistic NY Mets trade candidates to help with the loss of Francisco Alvarez

The New York Mets recently saw young catcher Francisco Alvarez hit the injured list with a fractured hamate bone. It could take up to eight weeks for Alvarez to recover. For a player who was projected to play a big role for the Mets in 2025, losing Alvarez for that amount of time is a big blow to the depth chart. While he won’t be out for most of the season, the Mets should still see what they can do to add to their catching depth. As of right now, Luis Torrens is looking to take over the primary catching role. However, the Mets should inquire about these three players, as they could help add a solid bench catcher for the time being.

1) Jason Delay

The Pittsburgh Pirates have four catchers on their 40-man roster, making them an ideal trade partner for the Mets. If they decide to move any of their current backstop options on their depth chart, defensive specialist Jason Delay is the most likely to get traded. Delay also has options remaining, so the Mets could send him to Triple-A when Alvarez is back in action. Delay also has a whole season of control left before hitting arbitration.

Delay is not much of a hitter. He has 373 plate appearances over the last three seasons, turning in a .231/.295/.315 triple-slash. He has struck out just over a quarter of the time with a 25.2% K% with a sub-par 7% walk rate. Delay has hit just two home runs in his MLB career and has an .085 isolated slugging percentage. Overall, he has just a .273 wOBA and 69 wRC+. 

For what it’s worth, Delay did see a fair amount of improvement from 2022 to 2023. In his first big league season, he had a .536 OPS, .243 wOBA, and 50 wRC+. The following season, Delay owned a .666 OPS, .296 wOBA, and 81 wRC+. His K% dropped from 29.9% to 23.5%, while his free pass percentage rose from 5.4% to 7.5%. Delay only appeared in seven games in the Major Leagues in 2024, however, as he missed time with injury and spent the rest of his season at Triple-A.

Although Delay hasn’t done much with the bat, he’s proven to be a superb defensive backstop. Throughout 966.2 innings, Delay has +4 defensive runs saved with +11.8 framing runs. He has not yet been charged with a passed ball in his career. While his arm strength has typically been slightly below average, coming in around 78-79 MPH, he’s graded out well in terms of pop time, with a slightly above average 1.99-second mark in 2022 and 2023.