Luis Torrens turned in the kind of season that makes a team feel a little safer every time a pitcher takes the mound. By the end of 2026, he had earned his second straight Gold Glove nomination, and even with the backup label attached to him, he was much more than that. Torrens started 74 games behind the plate, appeared in 86 total games as a catcher, and gave the Mets a steady presence for both veterans and rookies.
His biggest run as the starter came after Francisco Alvarez tore his meniscus in May. With Alvarez out, Torrens moved into the primary role and Hayden Senger stepped in as his backup.
From there, Torrens kept stacking up elite defensive numbers. He posted 12 DRS, which came out to 17.8 per 1,000 innings, along with 10 FRV, or 14.8 per 1,000 innings.
He also threw out 17 runners trying to steal and logged a pop time of 1.86 seconds. Put it all together, and it’s easy to see why he was viewed as one of the best defensive catchers in the league, if not the best.
The pitchers benefited, too. A full pitcher-catcher breakdown is never simple because so many other factors can shape those results, including the defenders around them, the ballpark, weather, and injuries.
Still, Torrens drew praise for his pitch calling and game management, and the run prevention numbers backed that up. The Mets had a catcher ERA of 3.74 with Torrens, compared with 4.54 with Alvarez.
For most of the year, Torrens’ value came on the defensive side, but August brought a burst at the plate. In 14 games that month, he hit six of his nine home runs and lifted his OPS from .602 at the start of August to .701 at the start of September. Overall, he finished the season at .235/.295/.396.
He even filled in elsewhere in the strangest way possible. Torrens threw 2.1 innings on the mound, allowing two runs for a 7.71 ERA, and also logged 3.0 innings at first base. That odd little usage line may or may not have had anything to do with his 2.1 fWAR.
Given all of that, the Mets’ decision to bring him back wasn’t much of a surprise. In May, Torrens signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal to stay through 2028, presumably to continue as the club’s backup catcher. And with so much still uncertain, there’s something reassuring about knowing he’ll be there when baseball returns.
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Even if Megill is healthy, the path back is not simple. The Mets can still add more starting pitching through free agency or trades, which only tightens the competition and leaves Megill needing to show he can hold up and perform in a crowded mix. For a pitcher coming off a major surgery, that kind of uncertainty can make every inning this spring feel a little bigger. [Read more 🡒]