Mets catcher Omar Narvaez will be sidelined for two months or more with a left calf strain.
Narvaez underwent imaging Thursday morning after injuring his calf Wednesday in Milwaukee, which showed a medium to high-grade strain. The typical timeline for a return from a calf strain is 8-9 weeks, but calf strains can often take longer to return from. The Mets will place Narvaez on the injured list and are expected to call up top prospect Francisco Alvarez to take his place on the roster.
The first week of the 2023 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Mets. Ace Justin Verlander is on the injured list with a low-grade teres major (shoulder) strain, right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter went to the IL on Tuesday with back spasms and the team was swept in Milwaukee in the second series of the season.
Narvaez left Wednesday’s game after feeling a twinge in his calf during an at-bat in the ninth inning. He realized something was wrong with the calf when he was running to first base on a fly ball, and was removed for Tomas Nido.
“He felt something in his mid-calf there coming out of the box,” manager Buck Showalter said following the 7-6 loss at American Family Field. “We’ll evaluate and see where we are.”
The Mets were already planning on bringing Alvarez to the home opener in case they needed to activate another catcher. Alvarez was optioned to Triple-A during the final week of spring training once Narvaez returned from the World Baseball Classic. The Mets ran out of at-bats for the 21-year-old and they felt he needed to continue refining his defense and framing in Triple-A. The club acknowledged that they had planned to keep him there all season unless an opportunity presented itself at the major league level with an injury to Narvaez or Nido. Power-hitting catchers like Alvarez are rare and the Mets don’t want to rush him and skip steps in his development.
Alvarez will now get a chance to show that he’s ready to catch every day in the big leagues and show he can hit big league pitching. Alvarez will continue working closely with catching coach Glenn Sherlock in order to gain the trust of the pitching staff and develop consistent habits behind the plate.
“Alvy did a great job in major league camp,” Sherlock told the Daily News in Port St. Lucie last month. “Great work ethic, great aptitude, his English is better and he just wants to get better.”
At the plate, he’s off to a good start with the Syracuse Mets, hitting .250 with two home runs, a double, four RBI and a 1.056 OPS.
“He’s a special kid,” Sherlock said. “He’s got a bright future and we’re excited about him. He’s got such a great attitude and I expect he’s going to have a good season.”
Alvarez also worked with Naravez, another Venezuelan, during spring training. A bat-first catcher who improved his framing over the past two seasons, Narvaez signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the Mets over the offseason. He started the year going 4-for-14 (.286) for the Mets while splitting time with Nido through the first two series.
The Mets will see the Miami Marlins for the second time this season starting Friday with the Citi Field opener at 1:10 p.m.
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