The Mets have bigger problems to solve this winter than catcher, and that’s exactly why Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens still look like the right answer for 2027.
It’s not hard to see why the position gets attention. Alvarez has not come close to matching the hype that followed him as baseball’s former No. 1 prospect, and his issues at the plate remain front and center. In 2026, he finished with a 34.8% whiff rate, another reminder that the offensive ceiling is still tied to real questions about his approach.
Torrens, for his part, keeps doing what he does best behind the plate. He remains one of the sport’s better defensive catchers, and he did finish the season with a solid stretch at the plate.
Still, the overall offensive line was light, as he finished with an OPS below .700. The only time he cleared that mark in his career came with the Seattle Mariners in 2021, when he posted a .730 OPS.
Even with those shortcomings, the Mets are still better off staying put.
If New York were determined to shake things up at catcher, Alvarez would be the obvious name to consider moving. But that path comes with a major problem: his trade value probably isn’t what it once was after another frustrating season. Alvarez posted a .711 OPS, and any return for him now may fall well short of the upside he still brings into his age-25 season.
That timing matters. Alvarez is also entering his second year of arbitration and is under team control through 2029, which makes him a far more affordable option than most of the alternatives the Mets could chase in free agency or on the trade market. A catcher who can still be an above-average hitter at the position, even on a bad year, and does it at that price is not easy to replace.
That’s also part of why Torrens fits so well next to him. David Stearns rewarded Torrens with a two-year, $11.5 million extension during the season, and it’s easy to see the logic. Torrens checks the boxes a team wants from a backup catcher: strong game-calling, excellent defense, and enough offense to avoid becoming a problem in the lineup.
The broader numbers back up the idea that this duo worked better than the raw frustrations might suggest. Even with both catchers having down years by their own standards, Mets catchers still ranked in the top 15 in batting average (.232), slugging percentage (.397), and fWAR (3.3). They also held their own defensively, finishing with a 15.6 Def rating, which ranked sixth in baseball according to FanGraphs.
So while catcher may look like a spot worth poking around, it is not really a weakness. In fact, compared with what most clubs are getting from the position, the Mets already have something pretty strong.
And that matters because the market doesn’t exactly hand them an easy upgrade. Catcher remains one of the toughest spots in baseball to fill with real impact, and this offseason offers no obvious slam-dunk solution.
Ryan Jeffers is the best free-agent option available, but at 32, he is expected to land a multi-year deal that could top $50 million. Tyler Stephenson and Carson Kelly - if Kelly turns down his mutual option - are next in line.
The trade options are more appealing on paper, but they would not come cheap. Hunter Goodman and Shea Langeliers are both intriguing, yet each would likely require a significant prospect package. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are reportedly open to moving Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, or Jimmy Crooks, though the question is whether any of those names would be worth paying for if the upgrade over Alvarez and Torrens is only marginal.
That’s the real issue for the Mets. They have more pressing jobs to handle: two starting pitchers, a first baseman, multiple relievers, and possibly a replacement for Bo Bichette if he opts out. Those are the places where resources need to go.
For Stearns and the front office, this is a big offseason. The safest move is also the most sensible one: keep the catching tandem intact and spend elsewhere.
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Mets May Face A Big Rotation Pivot This Winter
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Michael King is part of the broader picture, too, especially because his recent move from the bullpen into a starting role has made him one of the more intriguing arms available. His rise as a starter gives the Mets another possible path if the market breaks the wrong way, and his status will be worth watching as free agency opens and the rotation market starts to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]