ALLENTOWN, PA – AUGUST 02: Francisco Alvarez #19 of the Syracuse Mets in action during a game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park on August 2, 2022 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Alvarez is the number one ranked prospect in the New York Mets organization. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
The New York Mets are playing well but they still have a few issues with their roster construction.
The New York Mets have been a great team for the entire season. They have the second-best record in the entire sport at 73-40 and they have been even better recently. They have won 15 of their last 18 games.
That’s partially due to making some good additions at the trade deadline in first base/DH Daniel Vogelbach, outfielder Tyler Naquin, first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf, and reliever Mychal Givens. Their biggest ‘acquisition’ was their ace Jacob deGrom, though. deGrom hasn’t been healthy in over a year but he is finally back as he returned on Aug. 2 (coincidentally, trade deadline day) and he has been great in his two starts since.
However, their roster construction could use some improvement. There are three moves that the Mets could still make that would strengthen their chances at getting to and winning the World Series.
Mets: 3 roster moves to make to help their World Series chances
1) Call up catcher Francisco Álvarez
The Mets have not had a strong catching corps this year offensively. They have a wRC+ of 57 on the season, which is fourth-lowest in the sport at the position. Defensively, Tomás Nido has been great (4 Defensive Runs Saved, 3 Catcher Framing Runs). James McCann (who has been injured for most of the season) is very similar, as his bat has been well below average but his defense has been good. Still, their catchers overall have an fWAR of 0.4, which is 22nd in baseball so there is significant room to improve. The Mets could address that issue by calling up Francisco Álvarez.
Álvarez is MLB.com’s No. 1 overall prospect and he is at Triple-A for the Mets. On the season, the 20-year-old catcher has split the season between Double-A and Triple-A. He has played in 24 games at Triple-A and while he hasn’t hit for average, he has a good on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He is hitting .190/.346/.417 with five home runs, 18 RBI, and four doubles. In 67 games at Double-A, he was hitting .277/.368/.553 with 18 home runs and 47 RBI.
As things currently stand, Álvarez would be a perfect compliment to either Nido or McCann behind the plate.