Faded NY Mets prospect makes Francisco Alvarez injury doubly frustrating

Yet again, Francisco Alvarez has landed on the IL. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a young kid come up and help out behind the plate? Hayden Senger, already 29, is a fine third-string catcher who’ll call a good game and play defense. Expecting much offense during his stay with the New York Mets is asking too much.

Alvarez is competing for “most frustrating young Mets player” right there alongside Mark Vientos and Brett Baty. His performance and frequent injuries have held him back from ever becoming what feels like a definitive solution.

Doubling up on the anger is how Kevin Parada has developed. Batting .179 this year in Double-A, his brief promotion to Triple-A last year for 16 games when he hit .196 isn’t even getting matched. Parada was supposed to create a debate behind the plate for the Mets about whether it was his or Alvarez’s job. He’s not even a thought on the depth chart as he continues to putter around in the minors with 0 home runs this year and absolutely no signs of ever getting to the big leagues.

Kevin Parada’s lack of development makes the Francisco Alvarez injury more painful

Once a top MLB prospect, Parada ranked as high as 36th by MLB Pipeline heading into the 2023 season. A very mediocre rookie professional season, he did at least make it to Double-A. He has been floundering around there ever since with a full season in 2024 and almost another full one in 2025 before a brief stay in Syracuse to finish off the year.

With 436 strikeouts in 369 minor league games, it’s not just a matter of bad luck. Parada hasn’t improved a whole lot in any particular area. His defense hasn’t received rave reviews, preventing him from even becoming a candidate to become a Tomas Nido for the ball club in the future.

At 24 and a few months older than Alvarez, to be this far behind is one of the biggest shames of the organization. Parada was their first pick in the 2022 draft awarded to them for failing to sign Kumar Rocker the year prior. By now, he should have at least looke competent in Triple-A. This or any of the previous Alvarez injuries would’ve been his chance.

Parada managed to have a decent year in Double-A last year, batting .254/.326/.429 with 10 home runs and 50 RBi. As much as we’d like to believe there isn’t a chance of stepping backward, Parada is proving to us there absolutely is room to do so.

Far from the only member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies struggling, his poor performance tops the list simply because, like the Alvarez injuries, it’s a constant storyline every year. It’s getting to the point where, if things don’t turn for the better, he’s going to become one of those ex-Mets we hope doesn’t figure it out somewhere else.

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