Photo by Ed Delany of MMN

As previously reported, Omar Narváez left the finale of the New York Mets series against the Milwaukee Brewers and would undergo testing. As a result, the Mets had Francisco Álvarez travel from Syracuse to New York in anticipation of the team needing to activate him.

Narváez underwent an MRI, and he was diagnosed with a high grade strain of his left calf. As the Mets noted, players who suffer an injury of this nature typically require 8-9 weeks of rest and rehabilitation before being able to return to play.

As reported by Tim Healey of Newsday, the Mets plan on recalling Álvarez ahead of the Mets home opener on Friday. As Healey noted, Mets team officials were steadfast in saying whenever Álvarez is called up to the majors, they want him catching regularly.

With roughly, two months of consistent playing time, Álvarez now has the opportunity to permanently force his way into the Mets regular lineup. Of note, the Mets have the second worst slugging percentage in the National League, and they have only two homers on the season not hit by Pete Alonso.

Álvarez has had a hot start to the season. He has hit two homers and posted a 1.056 WHIP. He has also thrown out three out of five attempted base stealers.

If Álvarez does stay up for the full season, the Mets would be eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI). The PPI was designed to award teams who had prospects with less than 60 days of service accrue a full year of service in the majors. If a player meets those qualifications while also being named on the top 100 prospect rankings from Baseball American, ESPN, or MLB Pipeline, a team will be awarded a first round pick and extra bonus pool money in international free agency.

Even if Álvarez were not to win the National League Rookie of the Year, if he were to finish in the top three in MVP voting before he is arbitration eligible, the Mets would be awarded a first round pick. Teams can only be awarded on pick per player.