Category: Baseball

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Braves play a four-game series at Citi Field starting on Monday at 7:10 p.m.

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5 things to watch

Juan Soto is locked in

As the Mets' offense overall has been wildly inconsistent during their season-worst 1-8 stretch, Soto has been reaching base nearly half the time.

In 97 plate appearances over his last 22 games dating back to May 30, Soto is slashing .338/.495/.716 with eight homers, four doubles, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored, and 22 walks.

For the season, Soto's triple slash is up to .255/.392/.480. And his 151 OPS+ is nearing his career average, which is 159.

This obviously isn't top of mind for a Mets team trying to find its way out of a serious rut, but Soto -- after a start that had people running around like chickens with their heads cut off -- is probably a strong bet to make the All-Star Game.

Mark Vientos' potential return

Vientos, who has been out since June 3 due to a hamstring injury, is on the verge of being back, but was not activated ahead of Monday's game.

He has been rehabbing with Triple-A Syracuse, getting starts at third base and designated hitter.

When Vientos is activated, the Mets will have to clear room on the 26-man roster. And it shouldn't be much of a mystery when it comes to who would go down.

Ronny Mauricio, who came up when Vientos hit the IL, has been largely overmatched at the plate -- hitting .180/.241/.320 with 18 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances.

Frankie Montas' debut

New York's starting rotation, which has been in flux lately with Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill hitting the IL, is about to get two reinforcements.

The first one will come on Tuesday, when Montas is expected to get the start in what will be his season debut.

Montas did not fare well during his rehab assignment, but the hope is that he's ready to hit the ground running once the lights go on for real.

Beyond Montas on the horizon is Sean Manaea, who is expected to make one more rehab start before being activated.

If Manaea stays on a regular schedule, his 2025 debut will likely come when the Mets host the Brewers during a three-game series from July 1-3.

The Braves' rotation is down Chris Sale

Sale was having another Cy Young-caliber season before going down with a fractured rib.

The injury occurred when Sale made a headlong dive to snare a Soto grounder late during his start last week in Atlanta.

With Sale out, the Braves have not yet announced a starter for Tuesday.

Spencer Schwellenbach (Monday), Spencer Strider (Wednesday), and Grant Holmes (Thursday) are scheduled to start the other three games of the series.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is on another level

Acuña reached base eight times (six hits, two walks) in 13 at-bats over the weekend against the Marlins, continuing the torrid pace he's been on since returning from injury.

In 117 plate appearances over 27 games, Acuña is hitting .396/.504/.698 with eight homers and five doubles.

And while Atlanta has other dangerous hitters, including Matt Olson and Austin Riley, the Mets should go out of their way to try to make sure Acuña doesn't do too much damage.

They kept him somewhat in check during last week's series in Atlanta, as he went 2-for-8 with four walks -- though one of those hits was a home run

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Soto has been feeling it at the plate for nearly a month.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Clay Holmes

Expect Holmes to bounce back after he issued a season-high six walks his last time out.

Which Braves player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Marcell Ozuna

He seems to get a big hit every time these teams meet.

Giants option struggling Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A, activate Justin Verlander originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants made a significant roster move on Monday.

San Francisco optioned struggling second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A Sacramento and activated starting pitcher Justin Verlander from the paternity list, the team announced.

Fitzgerald has served as the Giants’ starting second baseman throughout the 2025 MLB season, and while he has played well defensively, is batting .230/.289/.320 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 200 plate appearances.

The 27-year-old broke out at the plate in the second half of the 2024 season, and carried that success with him throughout the offseason and into the spring, where he was named the starter.

It remains to be seen how long Fitzgerald will remain in Triple-A, but with infielder Casey Schmitt thriving in place of injured third baseman Matt Chapman, Schmitt eventually could slide over to second as an everyday option in place of Fitzgerald.

The Giants placed Verlander on the paternity list on Friday as the veteran pitcher and his wife, Kate Upton, welcomed their second child, son Bellamy Brooks Verlander, over the weekend.

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Giants notes: Why Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks weren't with Red Sox this weekend originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The Red Sox expect Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to help them this season, but when they spent a weekend at Oracle Park, the only former Giant who could impact the three-game series was the man who will coach both men. Former Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey now holds the same position in Boston. 

Harrison was optioned to Triple-A after the Rafael Devers trade was made, and Hicks was on the IL at the time. That’s still the case for the right-hander, who went down with toe inflammation on June 3. Hicks made a rehab appearance in Triple-A on Sunday and could be activated when the Red Sox return to Fenway Park this weekend. 

Hicks signed with the Giants to be a starter and still would like to have that role in the big leagues. But manager Alex Cora said the Red Sox plan to use him as a reliever.

“It’s another good arm that we’re going to have in the bullpen,” he said. “The bullpen the last month and a half has been amazing, and I think he’s going to fit right in and he’s going to help us win ball games.”

When Hicks is activated, the Red Sox will have the hardest-throwing bullpen duo in MLB history. In the pitch-tracking era, Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman and Hicks rank one-two in pitches thrown at least 103 mph. Chapman has hit triple-digits 109 times this year, while Hicks did it 28 times before getting hurt. 

Harrison was regularly back up to 96-97 mph before the trade, but he hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox organization yet. He threw a bullpen session in Worcester, Mass. on Wednesday to work on some tweaks the Red Sox would like to see. Harrison has been working on a sinker and cutter to complement his four-seamer and tested them out in a live BP session Saturday that was watched by head of baseball operations Craig Breslow. The expectation is that Harrison will join the big-league club at some point next month.

“We expect big things out of him, just like (the Giants) did,” Cora said. “It’s a special fastball. We saw it last year at one point. We’re excited about that.” 

Proud Papa

Justin Verlander went on paternity leave Friday so he could fly back to Florida and join wife Kate Upton for the birth of their second child, a son named Bellamy Brooks Verlander. Manager Bob Melvin said Verlander will be back in time to start Tuesday against the Miami Marlins.

Verlander came off the IL last Wednesday and gave up four runs — three earned — in 4 2/3 innings, and he said afterward that he was frustrated with his inconsistency in that outing. The active wins leader still is looking for his first with the Giants, and they’ll need him to find his form. They’ve lost some rotation depth over the past week.

It’s Going To Take Time

Now that Boston reporters are gone and Rafael Devers is through a full week with the Giants, Melvin probably won’t have to answer the “when will Devers play first” question every day. That’s good, because it’s going to be a while. 

Devers has been nursing minor groin tightness, something he was playing through before the trade. The Giants don’t want to push him too hard defensively until he’s fully healthy, because the bat is too important to their hopes. 

“Stretching over at first is maybe not the most comfortable thing for him,” Melvin said. “Obviously we want to keep him healthy, too, while learning the position.”

The groin issue doesn’t seem to be bothering Devers at all. He scored from first on Heliot Ramos’ double Sunday and recorded a sprint speed of 27.7 feet per second, which is considered slightly above average. 

Not Even Close

Devers is the only Giant who is anywhere near the top of his position in All-Star voting, but he’s also about 1.4 million votes behind Shohei Ohtani at DH, even with the carryover from his time on the American League ballot. The only other Giants to make the top 10 at their position are Matt Chapman (eighth) and Wilmer Flores (ninth at first base). It’s particularly grim in the outfield, where Heliot Ramos, an All-Star last year, ranks 19th among outfielders, four spots behind Michael Conforto, who is hitting .165 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Finalists will be announced on Thursday, with Phase 2 of voting beginning next week. The All-Star starters will be announced on July 2 and the full rosters will be revealed July 6. 

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Casey Schmitt making case to stay in Giants' lineup after Matt Chapman returns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Two years and one month ago, when Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers still were in the American League East, there was a stretch of games that seemed to indicate the Giants might not have a need at third base for the rest of the decade. 

Casey Schmitt arrived as a shortstop in May 2023, but only because Brandon Crawford was on the IL at the time. He was one of the best defensive third basemen in the minors, and when he hit the ground running, it looked like the Giants might have a homegrown player at the hot corner for years to come. 

During that first week in the big leagues, Schmitt showed off the entire arsenal. He became the first Giant since Willie McCovey to record eight hits in his first three games. Two of them were homers, including a 443-foot blast that left the bat at 111.6 mph. Even his sprint speeds were high. 

Schmitt looked like a future star. When a prominent prospect-ranking site moved him to the back end of their top 100, team officials joked that it was a sly way to cover for Schmitt not getting as much publicity as he should have in the minors. 

The two years since that eye-opening first week have been uneven, but Schmitt appears to have rediscovered that form, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Giants. 

In Sunday’s 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox, Schmitt had four hits for the first time since his third big-league game. His homer screamed out of the yard at 111.6 mph. It was his hardest-hit ball since that loud home run at Chase Field two years ago. 

Since taking over for the injured Chapman at third 12 games ago, Schmitt has a .415 average, 1.210 OPS and four homers. 

“It’s been great to see,” manager Bob Melvin said Sunday. “He’s hitting the ball the other way, pulling the ball — he gets into a 3-1 count (today) and he’s looking for a fastball and he does some damage with it to the pull side. He’s seeing the ball really well right now. He’s gotten an opportunity to play.”

Schmitt has given the Giants more than they ever could have expected as a Chapman fill-in, but also another option at a time when they might otherwise be forced to look externally for help at second base. 

Tyler Fitzgerald’s slump has dropped his OPS to .609, and he has just two homers one season after putting his name in the record books with a stunning second-half power display. Christian Koss has struggled in his opportunities, and overall, the Giants rank 27th in OPS from their second basemen. 

The staff still has plenty of belief in Fitzgerald’s talent, and he ranks among the league leaders in Defensive Runs Saved, but they need more offensive production out of the position and Schmitt looks poised to be a good option once he’s no longer needed at third base. Chapman took the splint off his sprained right hand on Friday, and he’s hopeful that he can return to the lineup in about two weeks. The staff is a bit more cautious, but the rehab process has gone well so far. 

A lot can happen in two weeks, but there are reasons to believe that this version of Schmitt will have more staying power. Two years ago, the league adjusted quickly, taking advantage of a young player who swung at everything. 

Schmitt still is striking out at a high clip, but he has doubled his walk rate and cut his chase by about 10 percent. When that came up on Sunday’s “Giants Postgame Live,” Schmitt smiled. 

“Who would have thought, right?” he said.

“It’s just grinding, to be honest with you. I know it was a big problem,” he continued. “I feel like last year I took a better step forward working on it, and this year I wanted to make sure I continue to work on it. It’s just working with (the hitting coaches) and just trying to swing at good pitches and go up there and not try to do too much and not worry about my swing. 

“I would try and do a little too much and tinker too much and now it’s just, I’m going up there with what I’ve got and I’m going out there and competing.”

With Sunday’s big game, Schmitt’s average is up to .286 and his OPS is .831, which ranks third on the team behind Devers and Heliot Ramos. The latter was the breakout star last season, and the Giants will be in much better shape for a second half run if Schmitt can become this year’s version. They also will be a lot more comfortable at the trade deadline next month.

After acquiring Devers, the front office doesn’t expect to be able to add salary at the deadline. Perhaps Buster Posey can convince ownership to keep stretching, but the Giants also are short on young assets after trading Kyle Harrison and James Tibbs. If they do decide to part with more prospects, they’d probably be better served using them on starting pitching depth or another right-handed bat for the outfield rather than on a second baseman. 

Schmitt hasn’t started a game at second base this season, but he made 29 starts there the previous two years. If he keeps hitting like this, there could be a lot of time on that side of the diamond once Chapman returns. 

“Whatever the team needs me to do, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said Sunday. “That’s always been my motto.”

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Luis Torrens became the Mets' everyday catcher Sunday when New York optionedFrancisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse.

Manager Carlos Mendoza cited a lack of consistency when he explained the Mets' move for the 23-year-old, which makes Torrens the unquestioned starter.

"I'm going to continue to do my job the way that I've been doing it," Torrens said through an interpreter after Sunday's 7-1 loss at the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I'm going to prepare as if I'm in the lineup, day in and day out, and try to help the team win games."

Torrens, 29, is slashing .227/.303/.336 with one home run and 13 RBI through 46 games this season. His defense has been a strength and is something that he takes pride in.

"I feel like that's something I've been working on since the offseason, and to be able to put those into action with games, it feels good, and that's what we work for," Torrens said through an interpreter.

An 0-for-3 Sunday followed a 2-for-4 Friday in which he was a bright spot during the Mets' 10-2 loss, and Torrens hopes that the lineup consistency will keep his offense trending up.

"Yeah, I expect so," Torrens said through an interpreter.

Carson Benge appears to be moving up the ladder. The Mets' 2024 first-round pick has been promoted from High-A Brooklyn to Double-A Binghamton, MLB Pipeline reports, after a fantastic campaign for the Cyclones.

In 60 games, Benge slashed .302/.417/.480 with four home runs, five triples, 18 doubles and 37 RBI. He added 15 steals with just two caught stealing and had a .897 OPS.

MLB's No. 83 prospect and the Mets' No. 5 prospect, according to SNY contributor Joe DeMayo's prospect list, Benge ended his time in Brooklyn with at least one hit in six of his last seven games and will look to continue that production with the Rumble Ponies for the duration of their season.

Selected No. 19 overall out of Oklahoma State in 2024, the outfielder has done nothing but impress since joining the Mets' farm system. In 15 games with Low-A St. Lucie after getting drafted, the 22-year-old hit .273 with an .856 OPS -- numbers good enough for him to start this season at High-A Brooklyn.

A two-way player in college, the lefty-swinging Benge focused solely on hitting as a pro and has already become one of the best position prospects in the game. If he keeps up his trajectory, the Mets could potentially see Benge in the majors either in 2026 or 2027.

Sunday's 7-1 loss at the Philadelphia Phillies was the Mets' eighth defeat in the past nine games. The finale of New York's third straight series loss saw left-hander David Peterson last four innings, done in by a five-run fourth where the Phillies (47-31) batted around, while the Mets (46-32) went scoreless through seven.

The combination leaves New York a game behind Philadelphia in the National League East Division entering this week's four-game series against the Atlanta Braves, which starts with Monday's 7:10 p.m. opener at Citi Field, and manager Carlos Mendoza is aware of the strain on his bullpen.

"Not going to say concerned, but we lost two quickly," he said when asked about being more concerned about the pitching than the lineup. "... I feel like the concern now is more like the state of the bullpen and how we've used those guys.

"Obviously, we've been shuffling a lot of guys. But we've got to find a way, we've got to find a way. We've got some really good arms in this room, and they'll get back on track and they will get us back on track here."

While right-hander Griffin Canning gave the Mets five innings in Saturday's 11-4 win, which snapped New York's season-high seven-game skid, Peterson's seven-inning outing last Tuesday at the Braves was the staff's last start of five frames or more.

Peterson's season-low four-inning start Sunday came at a time where the Mets, who are in the throes of a 13-game stretch without a day off from June 17-29, could have used the length.

"I wouldn't say surprised," Peterson (5-3, 2.98 ERA), who allowed five runs on six hits (two homers) while striking out four and walking three, said when asked if he was surprised about not getting past the fourth inning.

"It's part of the game. Obviously not happy with it. But I'll go back and watch it and see what I did well and see what we need to work on, and we'll move on to the next one."

Up next, the Mets get a rematch with Atlanta (35-41) after this past week's three-game sweep.

The Braves enter with two defeats in their past three games after they lost this weekend's series at the Miami Marlins.

"I think it's important to remain positive, to remain united," catcher Luis Torrens said through an interpreter. "We know that situations like this are going to happen, but I think, at the same time, it's important to continue to go out there. We know what we're capable of doing ... winning games how we're trying to."

A night after the Mets' offensive explosion, New York's went cold in Sunday's rubber game at the Philadelphia Phillies, a 7-1 loss.

Here are the takeaways...

-Cruising for the first three innings, David Peterson was jumped by the Phillies in the fourth after Kyle Schwarber tagged him for a solo shot to lead off the frame and break a scoreless tie.

After getting the first out of the inning, Nick Castellanos swung at Peterson's first offering and lined a double to put Philadelphia back in business. A walk to J.T. Realmuto and a single by Otto Kemp doubled New York's deficit and all of a sudden Peterson was on the ropes.

Still just one out in the inning, Edmundo Sosa, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, had the big hit with a 430-foot three-run bomb that put the Phillies ahead, 5-0, as the crooked inning continues to haunt the Mets.

Peterson's night was done after four innings, his shortest outing of the season, and five earned runs allowed on six hits and three walks. The rough outing came after three straight starts in which the lefty had pitched at least seven innings, a stretch that included his shutout at home against the Washington Nationals.

The five earned runs was also the most Peterson has allowed this season and increased his ERA from 2.60 to 2.98.

-On the other side, Jesus Luzardo turned in a masterful performance as he continues to torture New York. Entering Sunday, the left-hander was 4-2 against the Mets with a 3.02 ERA in 44.2 innings over eight starts, all with the Miami Marlins. Luzardo ended up going 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and a walk while striking out seven.

-The Mets did have an opportunity to get to their nemesis in the first inning after Francisco Lindor led off the game with a single before advancing to second on a wild pitch following a strikeout. With a runner in scoring position, Juan Soto flied out to right field and Pete Alonso struck out as New York's problems with RISP continue. The team finished 0-for-3 in that situation.

-Tyler Zuber made his season debut in the seventh after his recent call-up and it didn't go well with the right-hander giving up two earned runs on three hits. He came back out for the eighth and pitched a clean inning.

-Prior to Zuber, Dedniel Nuñez made his first MLB appearance since May 16 and pitched a scoreless inning -- a possible good sign for the Mets who are in need of bullpen help.

-Lindor got New York on the board in the eighth with a solo shot. It's the first time in their last 29 games the Mets lost a game in which Lindor homered.

Game MVP: Jesus Luzardo

The lefty continued his string of impressive performances against the Mets.

Highlights

David Peterson picks off Edmundo Sosa at second!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/FtuF0nMh6K

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 22, 2025

Francisco Lindor homers to get the Mets on the board

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/gtQt1v6R0a

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 23, 2025

What's next

The Mets return home to take on the Atlanta Braves for a four-game series starting on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

RHP Paul Blackburn (0-1, 6.92 ERA) faces off against RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (5-4, 3.26 ERA).

Upstaging Shohei Ohtani, especially on a day he pitches, is no easy feat.

But at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, teammate Max Muncy did it twice — hitting two home runs and matching a career high with seven RBIs to lift the Dodgers to a 13-7 defeat of the Washington Nationals, and make Ohtani more of the sideshow in his second pitching start of the season.

Despite two strikeouts over a scoreless first inning from Ohtani to begin the day, Dodger Stadium had sat in relative silence for the next five innings.

Ben Casparius, who replaced the still workload-restricted Ohtani on the mound in the second, gave up a three-run home run in the third, when a flyball deflected off Hyeseong Kim’s glove at the wall before hitting a fan reaching over the barrier.

Michael Soroka, the former All-Star turned inconsistent journeyman, held the Dodgers hitless into the fifth, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts while protecting the 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, an opportunity for the Dodgers finally arose.

Dalton Rushing led off with a slicing ground-rule double down the left-field line. Ohtani drew a walk with the help of two favorable ball-strike calls. Badly slumping Freddie Freeman was bailed out of an 0-and-2 count on a wild slurve from Soroka that hit his foot.

And suddenly, the Nationals had to go to the bullpen, summoning left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to face Muncy with the bases loaded.

Read more:Shaikin: Why is Dodger Stadium SO LOUD?

After just three pitches to Muncy, Ferrer called out the grounds crew to rake the mound and smooth out his landing area on the downslope.

But at the plate, it gave Muncy time to think about his at-bat against Ferrer the night before, mentally lock in on what to expect, and catch his breath in the biggest moment of the game.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready,” Muncy said he told himself. “And let’s get a swing off.”

Muncy did on each of the next two pitches, fouling off one center-cut sinker before lining the next deep to left for a script-flipping, deficit-erasing, go-ahead grand slam.

“I saw the guy last night, so had a good idea of what he was throwing in there and how to approach it,” Muncy said. “I was trying to keep the ball off the ground, get something in the air, get at least one run in. Just trying to do a job. And I got a good swing off and got the ball in a good spot.”

Ohtani started the day as the main attraction.

The two-way star drew a crowd as he came onto the field for pregame warm-ups and got loose in the left-field bullpen — prompting fans even up in the upper reserve-level deck to lean over railings and get a look at his dual-role talents.

And once the game began, Ohtani climbed atop the mound and showed progress from his season debut as a pitcher six days before.

"I thought he was considerably better today,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The stuff, the life of the fastball, the command of his pitches — much better.”

Ohtani's scoreless inning included strikeouts of Luis Garcia Jr. on a sweeper and Nathaniel Lowe on a cutter, representing his first strikeouts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He worked around a dropped infield pop-up from Mookie Betts in an otherwise efficient 18-pitch, 12-strike outing. He hit 99 mph with his fastball while mixing in a healthy dose of sweepers, cutters and splitters to complement it.

"Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing," said Ohtani, who noted that the plan for Sunday’s start was to once again be limited to only one inning.

"I think that it's just more of just trying to get the foundation, the building blocks as he's taking at-bats,” Roberts added. “Getting an inning here, an inning there, and then just gradually progress.”

Ohtani also quieted recent questions about whether his return to pitching was affecting his bat.

After entering the day two-for-19 in five games since resuming two-way duties, Ohtani helped the Dodgers (48-31) pull away late. In the seventh, he laced a bases-loaded, three-run triple past the first base bag, turning a narrow one-run lead into a comfortable four-score cushion over the Nationals (32-46). In the eighth, he added more insurance, belting a two-run homer to left-center field for his National League-leading 26th long ball.

“When he's going to the big part of the field, I think he's really, really good,” Roberts said. “So today was good. And hopefully it quiets the noise a little bit with the days that he pitches."

Not to be outdone, however, Muncy raised the ante himself in the latter innings, following Ohtani’s seventh-inning triple with a three-run home run to right three batters later.

“You look at the last 30 days, I think he's been our best hitter,” Roberts said. “We never wavered in our confidence, and we've shown that, and he's proven us all right."

Indeed, Sunday continued a stunning mid-season turnaround for Muncy — giving him a .305 average with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs over his last 39 games; compared to a .177 average, one home run and seven RBIs in his first 35 contests.

It moved him into third place among National League third basemen this season with an .815 OPS — making a player who once seemed bound for trade rumors this summer unexpectedly on the fringes of the All-Star conversation.

And, it somehow managed to top the all-around production Ohtani displayed in his two-way encore, lifting the Dodgers to a weekend series win and 7-3 record overall on this 10-game homestand.

“It’s definitely a snowball effect,” Muncy said. “Confidence is high right now.”

Read more:Contributor: Baseball is mostly mistakes. How else can we learn grace?

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Despite a 2-for-5 night, including a ninth-inning home run, against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Francisco Alvarez just hasn't had the consistency -- both offensively and defensively -- that the Mets were hoping for from the young catcher this season.

After news broke on Sunday afternoon that Alvarez was sent down to Triple-A, manager Carlos Mendoza explained the team's reasoning behind their difficult decision.

"The consistency," the skipper said. "There were stretches where we felt, I felt like a couple of games where okay that’s what it’s supposed to look like. But then he’ll go a couple of games where he’s late with the fastball and then he chases, so just looking for consistency here."

Mendoza went on to say that having Alvarez not play every day while splitting time with Luis Torrens this season wasn't helping the 23-year-old's development.

"When you’re playing, even though we gave him a chance, if you’re playing 3-4 games a week compared to having an opportunity to play six (games a week), that’s how you’re gonna get better," Mendoza said. "In reality, Luis is continuing to earn playing time so we’re getting to a point where like 50/50 and that’s what’s best for Alvy? Probably not at this time, so that’s why."

Obviously the decision to demote a player that was regarded as a top prospect, has shown he's capable of playing in the majors and has so much potential at still such a young age wasn't easy and came after "extensive conversations."

At the end of the day, New York believes the decision will benefit Alvarez and the Mets in the long run and they fully expect the catcher to return at some point after working on what he needs to work on.

"We decided it was best for him to go down in Triple-A, play everyday, work on whether it’s the offense, defense, just in general," Mendoza said. "There’s a lot of potential there and when he’s playing up to his potential he’s got a chance to be a pretty special player. And we’re gonna need him. We expect him to be back, but right now we feel like it’s best for him to go down there and get reps."

Not only has Alvarez's offense been a disappointment this season as he's slashing .236/.319/.333 with just six extra-base hits, his defense has taken a step backwards as well, especially in regards to blocking pitches -- a passed ball in Saturday night's game led to a run.

To his credit, Alvarez took the news well but couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Very professional -- he listened, very respectful," Mendoza said. "Obviously frustrated because when you’re in the big leagues and you get sent back down you don’t wanna hear that... it’s part of the process, part of the business."

Some of Alvarez's struggles, particularly offensively, can surely be attributed to his hamate bone fracture (his second hand injury in two years) he suffered in camp which caused him to miss most of spring training and a chunk of the regular season.

Not only can an injury like that take a toll on a player, especially a catcher, but in Alvarez's case the missed time didn't allow him the appropriate time to work on the offseason adjustments he made with his swing -- adjustments that Mendoza called "legit." Instead, he'd been trying to do it on the fly in the majors which isn't easy for any player, let alone a 23-year-old.

"You’re going through a major adjustment, you’re gonna need (at-bats) and that’s what spring training is for," Mendoza said. "And the goal when he reported was like ‘hey, we’re gonna try and get you as many at-bats as possible before we break camp’ and then unfortunately he went down. So, not trying to make excuses for the kid, but it’s something that we also talk about."