Mets’ Francisco Alvarez excited to catch Edwin Diaz for first time
Of the many things Mets fans got to miss out on in 2023, they were unable to see the battery of Francisco Alvarez and Edwin Diaz closing out games.
Diaz, of course, missed the entire season after a freak knee injury during last year’s World Baseball Classic. But after surgery and rehab, the Mets’ dominant closer is ready to take the mound and the young catcher is excited to be behind the plate for when that happens.
“I’m very excited,” Alvarez told SNY at the Mets’ spring training facility in Port St. Lucie on Thursday. “I see Diaz last year in the games and he can’t play, but this year he can play and I feel he’s very excited, too.”
Alvarez arrived early to spring training to work on both his offense and defense. Pitchers and catchers won’t report until Feb. 12, but the 22-year-old backstop wanted to get a headstart. He said he can't wait to see his teammates from last season and meet some new ones.
Diaz isn’t the only pitcher that Alvarez will catch for the first time in 2024. Luis Severino and Adrian Houser, among others, will be tossing the ball to Alvarez this year and the Venezuelan native is ready to build that rapport with them.
“I want to meet our starters and I want to see what they got for me,” Alvarez said. “And I want to tell the pitcher how I can help.”
While Alvarez was prolific with his bat last season, mashing 25 homers and driving in 63 RBI in his first full season in the big leagues, how he handled a veteran rotation that included Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander was equally, if not more, impressive.
That’s just another part of his game that Alvarez hopes to improve this season and it starts in spring training.
“I want to get better in everything,” he said. “We have time to get better in everything I can do.”
