Surprise Mets roster battle will continue longer than expected

An intriguing roster decision for the New York Mets is on the horizon regarding the backup catcher role. The team is pondering who will backup Francisco Alvarez when he returns from the injure list soon, but the decision will be delayed by a few days.

Francisco Alvarez’s long-awaited return from the injured list will be delayed, though not because of an injury, but because of a family matter he must take care of in Venezuela. Both Luis Torrens and Tomas Nido are competing for that role, and both have made a case to stay.

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez’s rehab delay gives their current back catchup role battle more life.

At this time two weeks ago, it appeared certain that Tomas Nido would stay and they would cut Omar Narvaez when Alvarez was ready.

Nido, who only got another chance with the team because of the Alvarez injury, has been much better this year than he was last year. He is batting 100 points higher (.229 this season to .125 last season) and his caught stealing ratio is improved from a year ago.

But the Mets saw enough from Omar Narvaez after another poor start and eventually cut him last week, to their credit. The Mets acquired Luis Torrens from the Yankees last week to replace Narvaez and hoped he would represent a temporary spark. And that spark has been there on both ends. In four games, he hit two home runs (both in Wednesday’s series finale in Washington) and threw out both attempted base stealers against him.

As a result of Torrens' success, the decision at the catcher position got tougher then the Mets imagined. Additionally, Neither Nido or Torrens have team options left, so one of them will have to be designated for assignment if they get taken off the active roster.

The Mets were originally going to have Alvarez catch nine innings in Syracuse on Friday and Saturday and DH on Sunday with a return date for Tuesday. The delay likely pushes the end of his rehab to the middle of next week when he comes back from Venezuela. Activation then moves to next weekend for their series at Citi Field against the Padres.

For now it seems like Torrens has more to gain because his sample size is small, and he hadn’t played in the majors until the Mets traded for him. And he’ll probably have at least two more chances to prove himself before time is up.