Mets waiting on Francisco Alvarez and his swing change: ‘We have to see the results’

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ATLANTA — In the wake of one of the Mets’ most difficult losses of the season, catcher Francisco Alvarez placed much of the blame on himself.

Alvarez regretted how he handled a ball in the dirt in the 10th inning, with his throw down to second allowing the eventual winning run to move to third with only one out. And he lamented switching the pitch call for Reed Garrett on Marcell Ozuna’s score-tying three-run double in the eighth inning.

“I think it was more on me,” Alvarez said. “It feels bad.”

“That’s Alvy,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday. “He’s going to take responsibility when situations like that happen. You turn the page, and you learn from it.”

The Mets have lost four straight entering Wednesday, and Alvarez’s lack of production is under the microscope. While his batting average and on-base percentage are in line or better than his career track record, Alvarez has displayed almost no power in 2025. He owns just five extra-base hits in 130 plate appearances — this from a guy who hit 25 home runs as a 21-year-old rookie in 2023.

Circle the bases, boys!@Delta | https://t.co/tF2BPq0CFH pic.twitter.com/FY3UuJaFSo

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 18, 2025

As Alvarez struggled in the middle of last summer, he decided to overhaul his swing in the winter, when he’d have time to implement the changes he felt necessary to become a more complete hitter. That plan was interrupted, however, by the left hamate fracture he suffered in spring training, which took away valuable time to work through those changes when the games didn’t mean anything.

“It’s hard,” Alvarez said Wednesday. “You don’t have the spring training time. That made me rush a little bit.”

“Losing that time in spring training hurt,” co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said. “He needs those reps. … You would love to see immediate results, where your swing is exactly where it needs to be. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work like that, and it’s very difficult at this level to make a full swing change.”

So far, it hasn’t clicked for Alvarez. In recent weeks, multiple Mets officials acknowledged there could come a time when it would be better for the catcher to work through those swing changes in the minor leagues. That decision is delicate. The Mets want Alvarez to build confidence, and sending him down for the first time since spring 2023 would necessarily dent that confidence for a time. Right now, the Mets believe Alvarez is still helping the major-league team win, and recent progress has them encouraged about his chances of working through his offensive issues in the majors.

A few weeks back, Chavez said, Alvarez looked “a little overmatched” at the plate, especially by fastballs. That’s when the club pushed more velocity at Alvarez in the cage and during batting practice, to get him more on time for the heater. That’s helped.

“The past week, I feel like he’s hitting the ball in the air, hitting the ball hard — something we didn’t see early on when he got back from the injury,” Mendoza said. “I like some of the takes with some of the breaking balls. I know he’s working.”

“It looks like he’s more aggressive up there with a chance,” said Chavez.

Alvarez has been pleased with his pitch recognition, which has helped drive his walk rate and on-base percentage to career bests.

“I feel very close,” he said. “I’m taking better pitches, I’m swinging at my pitches. I’m just waiting for and working on how to do more damage to the pitches I’m swinging at right now. When I start doing that, it’s going to be way better.”

Alvarez continues getting high marks from the coaching staff for his work ethic. But Chavez is realistic about what needs to happen.

“We can feel as good as we want off the field, but the only thing that matters is those four at-bats,” Chavez said. “Because at some point, if you don’t get results, it doesn’t matter what you’re feeling. It’s not working. At some point, it has to start translating.”

Luis Torrens has been solid for the Mets this season, but he’s in his own 3-for-30 slump entering his start Wednesday. There’s little doubt that the best version of the 2025 Mets involves Alvarez figuring this out soon.

“We don’t have three or four months for you to figure out your swing,” Chavez said. “(Alvarez) understands the importance of that and the urgency of that. He understands what we have in Torrens. He’s not oblivious to any of this.

“We need to start seeing some of those results a lot sooner than later.”

(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)

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