Francisco Alvarez, Photo by James Farrance

In a report from Andy Martino of SNY, the New York Mets have decided they will not have Francisco Álvarez on the Opening Day roster as either a catcher or designated hitter. The reason for this decision is the Mets believe Álvarez “needs to continue to develop as a catcher, which he will probably do in Triple-A at the beginning of the year.”

There has been some fan clamoring for Álvarez to be part of the designated hitter situation. Daniel Vogelbach is a strict platoon option and DH, and the Mets did call-up Álvarez late in the season to serve as the short-side platoon option. He would even make the postseason roster becoming the youngest ever Mets player to get a postseason at-bat.

While the concept of having Álvarez spend time at DH and catch sounded enticing, the Mets believed Álvarez was not ready to catch on an even semi-regular basis to at least start the season. The first signs the Mets believed that to be the case was when the team signed Omar Narváez to a one year deal with an option.

Much like last season, Álvarez is bullish on his chances to play in the majors, and he is pushing to make the Opening Day roster. In an effort to accomplish that goal and to overall improve his skills behind the plate, Álvarez has been working this offseason with Robinson Chirinos and Yadier Molina.

There are strides Álvarez does need to make based upon his extremely limited sample size this past season. In his two games behind the dish, he had a 42.9% called strike rate. On the topic of smaller sample sizes, Álvarez has never caught more than 79 games in a season. At the Major League level, the Mets are likely going to want him to catch 100+.

It should be noted the catching position is one that tends to see more injuries than the other positions on the field. As a result, it will only be a matter of time before Álvarez gets his chance. With his bat and the work he has continued to put in defensively, it is only a matter of time he gets his chance to catch everyday.