Simply the best? Not quite.
Catcher Francisco Alvarez remains the New York Mets’ top prospect in the latest rankings by MLB Pipeline.
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But the catcher, who finished 2022 as MLB Pipeline’s top overall prospect, slipped to No. 3 in the latest rankings.
Alvarez is one of four Mets in the top 100:
3. Francisco Alvarez, C
21. Brett Baty, 3B/OF
36. Kevin Parada, C
96. Alex Ramirez, OF
Álvarez made his MLB debut last season, getting 12 at-bats in five regular-season games and hitting .167 with one home run.
He also got a one-at bat during the Mets’ three-game wild-card loss to the San Diego Padres.
The Mets can afford to be patient with Álvarez. The club signed former All-Star catcher Omar Narváez last month to a one-year, $8 million contract with a player option for 2024 worth $7 million.
New York also signed Tomás Nido to a two-year, $3.7 million contract, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.
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On Wednesday, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported Mets general manager Billy Eppler believes Alvarez’s future remains behind the plate.
“Yes, I believe he is a catcher. Because I have in-house data that shows improvement and strong receiving ability from Double-A, and that it was good from his limited time at Triple-A … “I’m not going to say one way or the other; I wouldn’t say if I thought his bat was ready. I’m going to let time and the process of evaluation organically allow that to happen.”
SNY’s Andy Martino reported last week “Power-hitting catching prospect Francisco Alvarez is not in the full-time DH mix. The way the organization sees it, Álvarez needs to continue to develop as a catcher, which he will probably do in Triple-A at the beginning of the year. He might DH a bit in the big leagues, but cannot be counted on to fill the position on a daily basis.”
MORE MLB:
– Pirates demote ex-Yankees slugger
– Yankees, Mets get new timeline for Angels-Shohei Ohtani trade talks
– Free-agent outfielder is out of Yankees’ price range
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected].