Luis Torrens has made the Mets’ catching conversation a lot more complicated than it looked a month ago.
Over his last 30 games, Torrens has been swinging one of the hottest bats on the team, hitting .291 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and a .581 slugging percentage. He has paired that with his usual strength behind the plate, where his 32% caught-stealing rate still puts him among baseball’s best at controlling the running game.
Francisco Alvarez, meanwhile, has gone the other direction in that same stretch. In his last 30 games, he is hitting .168 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and a .554 OPS. His defense has not hurt the Mets this season, but it has not matched Torrens’ level either.
That is why the more interesting question is not what happens in the final weeks of this season, but who should be behind the plate next year.
Torrens has built a strong case for the job. His defense fits neatly with David Stearns’ run-prevention approach, and Stearns already showed how much he values him by giving Torrens a two-year, $11.5 million extension in May. The glove has always been there, but the bat has given this discussion real momentum.
This has been one of the best offensive seasons of Torrens’ nine-year major league career. He is hitting .245/.306/.418 with nine home runs, 40 RBIs and a 101 wRC+. A lot of that line has been boosted by his recent tear, but it also shows he has offered more than just steady defense.
At the same time, the Mets have to decide how much stock to put in a stretch like this. Torrens has not posted an OPS above .700 since 2021, when he was with the Seattle Mariners, so this run stands apart from most of his career work. The club has to figure out whether it believes the surge is a real change or just a hot month.
There is precedent for a late-career offensive jump, and the Mets know it. Daniel Murphy is the example the article points to, with signs of a breakout late in 2015 before he exploded in the postseason and then became an All-Star after leaving New York.
Alvarez presents a much tougher call. He is hitting .231/.315/.399 this season with 15 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 100 wRC+. The power still shows up in bursts, but he has not come close to matching the expectations that came with being the Mets’ former No. 1 prospect.
Even so, this is not a simple case of moving on. Alvarez is in his fourth full major league season and is still only 24 years old.
Nolan McLean is older at 25 despite being in his rookie season. That kind of age matters when you are talking about a player who was once viewed as having an MVP-caliber bat.
The Mets do not have the luxury of endless patience, though. If they believe Torrens can bring more value next season, then they have a real decision to make.
With playoff aspirations back in the picture for 2027, New York has to choose the catcher who gives it the best chance to win. Right now, Torrens is forcing his way into that conversation.
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Andy Green acknowledged the oddity of it, but cast the response in a broader light, saying it reflected respect for players who do something special. Still, the scene fit into a series that has already felt charged in the stands, with fans sending mixed signals throughout and even breaking into chants aimed at president David Stearns, another reminder that the mood around the club can shift fast depending on who is at the plate and whats at stake. [Read more 🡒]