Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty provide reason to believe in Mets’ youth

NEW YORK — Inside the New York Mets dugout, Carlos Mendoza was caught uncharacteristically flat-footed. The manager who thinks through almost every possibility hadn’t contemplated this one.

A rousing standing ovation for Francisco Alvarez’s first plate appearance back in the majors.

“Shoutout to the fans,” Mendoza said. “He felt it. It meant something to him. It meant something to the dugout.”

“It felt really good because of all the struggles I had earlier in the season,” Alvarez said. “I’m super appreciative of all the fans here.”

Recalled Monday after a month-long stay in Triple A, Alvarez showcased why he’s such a vital part of the Mets’ plans, in the long term and the here and now. He reached base three times, made a pair of critical defensive plays and helped helm a four-run comeback in New York’s 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Alvarez’s return sparked the entire bottom of the Mets’ order. Earlier in the day, president of baseball operations David Stearns had defended that section of the lineup, pushing back on the notion that the Mets would need more from it.

“I actually think the depth of our lineup over the last couple weeks has been pretty good,” Stearns said. “We’ve turned the lineup over pretty nicely. We have guys in the bottom of our lineup who are extending at-bats and seeing pitches.”

That might be a stretch of “pretty good.” From the start of June through Sunday, the Mets’ fifth through ninth hitters owned a .612 OPS, compared to .848 for the top four in the lineup. New York does indeed need more from that group. But Monday showed why it’s not irrational for Stearns to think that help can come internally.

First, there was Alvarez. Sent to the minors to work on his offensive approach and defensive fundamentals, Alvarez returned looking more like the confident player who hit 25 home runs as a rookie while excelling behind the dish in 2023. He worked a pair of walks against starter Tyler Anderson before unloading the other way against José Fermin for a crucial eighth-inning double.

“For him to drive the ball like that against a righty, that’s a really good sign,” Mendoza said. “It’s just the confidence. You can see it in the box. He’s in control of the at-bat.”

Alvarez had just six extra-base hits all season in the majors. A version of the catcher that can get on base as much as he has this year, while popping more doubles and homers, can alter the look of that lineup considerably. It didn’t hurt that he also threw out Zach Neto attempting to steal.

He wasn’t the only productive 20-something in the bottom half. Brett Baty continued a solid homestand with a two-run homer in the fourth and a walk before that Alvarez double in the eighth. It was Baty who scored the go-ahead run on an error when the Angels attempted a 5-2 putout at home; coincidentally, Baty had executed that exact play in the seventh to keep New York within three runs at the time.

“He’s a confident player getting results,” Mendoza said. “He continues to help us win baseball games.”

Baty is particularly comfortable at Citi Field, where he has hit 10 of his 11 home runs this season. His OPS in Queens is over .900; it’s under .500 on the road.

“I’m just trying to have quality at-bats, hit the ball hard and play good defense,” he said. “I’m just trying to be me.”

Baty’s OPS for the season has climbed over .700 and over the league average. He has reached that point with some hills and valleys, but it’s become a nice bounce-back campaign to this point.

Stearns said Monday that he envisions the Mets sticking with the internal options at third base the rest of the season. That means leaning on Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Mark Vientos. Stearns said it’s not a priority to have a set regular at the hot corner, even by season’s end.

“We want to have good players who ultimately own their position. That would be wonderful if someone were to take a step forward and solidify himself as a really good everyday regular,” Stearns said. “We have 26 roster spots, and we want to use them all. If that means certain positions need to be time shares, then certain positions need to be time shares.”

Insomuch as the Mets have a regular in that group, it’s Baty. He has started 20 of the last 26 games at second or third, and Monday marked his second straight start against a left-handed pitcher (albeit a reverse-split lefty in Anderson).

As Stearns works through these next 10 days, a crucial first step is accurately evaluating the bar for upgrades. In other words, what’s reasonable to expect from what the Mets have in Alvarez, Baty and some of their other young players, and who on the market represents a worthwhile upgrade? For one night Monday, that bar was high indeed.

(Photo of Francisco Alvarez: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)