If Francisco Alvarez successfully completes a comeback and returns to the field this season, he would be playing through a torn UCL that needs surgery in his right thumb and a broken pinkie on his left hand.
In his first game of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse intended to test his right hand Wednesday, Alvarez was drilled in the left hand with a pitch that resulted in a “small fracture,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday, the latest hand injury for a player who has had many.
Alvarez was set to meet with doctors Thursday afternoon, but the Mets were encouraged with the early reports that suggested this setback can be brief: They were planning for Alvarez to sit for two or three days as the inflammation subsides before restarting the rehab assignment.
There is no questioning the heart of Alvarez, but the club wants to be careful about how much Alvarez can handle in his current state.
“We’re not going to put him in a position where he’s very uncomfortable,” Mendoza said before losing to the Marlins, 7-4, at Citi Field. “As tough as he is, he’s human.”
A human who is a catcher, whose left hand takes a daily pounding in receiving a couple hundred pitches from pitchers capable of throwing 100 mph.
The Mets will wait to see how Alvarez can adapt to catching with a broken pinkie.
They already were waiting to see how Alvarez could handle hitting and throwing with a compromised right hand.
Alvarez has said he can swing without pain, though that has not been the case with other players who have attempted to play through a torn UCL in their thumb.
He also needs to tweak how he throws the ball, which he acknowledged is a bit awkward while minimizing the use of the right thumb.
Before leaving Wednesday’s game, “Ball was coming out fine, good intensity, good carry,” Mendoza said. “But I don’t think he got tested at all.”
A struggling Ryne Stanek entered in the sixth inning of a tie game and walked the first two batters he faced.
But the hard-throwing righty escaped with a double play ball and line out.
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“That’s a good sign there,” Mendoza said of Stanek, who had let up 12 runs in 5 ¹/₃ innings before delivering back-to-back scoreless innings.
Without Alvarez, Mendoza turned to Hayden Senger to catch for a second straight game.
Luis Torrens, who typically receives more time, is “fine” after getting hit in the hand with a bat last week, Mendoza said, and Torrens likely will start Friday.
Tylor Megill (right elbow sprain) extended to 70 pitches over four innings in a fourth rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse.
The righty allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four.
As expected, Jose Siri (broken tibia) began a rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie on Wednesday.
Less expectedly, Jesse Winker (lower back) did, too.
The DH, who had been behind Siri and had struggled to advance in baseball activities, went 0-for-2 and is expected to receive two or three more at-bats with St. Lucie on Friday.
“He’s had some good days, some bad days,” Mendoza said of Winker, who was placed on the IL on July 11 and has a history of back issues. “He’s giving it a go. Good enough to be playing games, and we’ll see where we’re at after that.”
Mendoza acknowledged that Winker is “obviously running out of time here,” but the lefty slugger wants to attempt to return.
Novak Djokovic made the short journey from the US Open to Citi Field, where he talked with several Mets before the game.
He and Sean Manaea chatted at length before Djokovic talked with Francisco Lindor, who received a pair of sneakers and gave Djokovic an autographed baseball glove.