The Mets have made it official: they have selected the contract of the best hope Francisco Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse, confirming his previously reported promotion to the big leagues. In a pair of matching list moves, Darin Ruf was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained neck and left-handed Alex Claudio has been designated for assignment. Alvarez will be the Mets’ designated hitter today, seventh at bat in his Major League debut.
Considered by most outlets to be one of baseball’s top ten prospects – and considered the the sport’s top prospect on MLB.com — Alvarez will cap off a monstrous season with his first call-up to the Majors. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year, the 20-year-old slugger posted a combined .260/.374/.511 batting line with 27 homers, 22 doubles, a 14.1 walk rate % and a 24.8% strikeout rate over 495 plate appearances. He’s been on an absolute tear since returning from a stint on the minor league injured reserve earlier this month, smashing a .362/.483/.596 clip in his last 58 plate appearances. .
It’s a stark contrast to veteran Ruf, acquired from the Giants before the trade deadline. The 36-year-old has been one of the most potent bats in the game against southpaws in recent years, but has fallen to a dismal 0.152/0.216/0.197 batting line in 74 board appearances as a Met – being easily outplayed by the same right-handed puncher he was traded for; JD Davis beats .280/.375/.525 in 136 moves at home plate as a Giant. (The Mets also sent a left-hander Thomas Szapucki and a pair of prospects in San Francisco in this exchange.)
Alvarez’s first start will come against the Braves southpaw Max fried – a tough opponent but at least one favorable platoon match. In 132 plate appearances against left-handers in the minors this season, he collected a .315/.424/.595 clip and had 15 extra hits (eight homers, seven doubles). Fried is (obviously) more than a cut above the pitching quality Alvarez has faced in Double-A and Triple-A, but he’ll still add a right-handed punch in a pivotal series that could very well decide of the winner of the National League of the East.
Claudio, 30, pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings with the Mets earlier this month, marking his ninth straight season with time on a Major League roster. Present in the Rangers then Brewers enclosure from 2014 to 2020, Claudio had a bad 2021 season with the Angels and then spent most of the current campaign in Triple-A. He posted a combined 3.44 ERA in 311 2/3 frames in that 14-20 streak between Texas and Milwaukee before serving out a macabre 5.51 ERA in 32 2/3 innings as an angel. He posted a 3.91 ERA at Syracuse this year, in addition to his 3 1/3 shutouts for the Mets big league roster.
The Mets will place Claudio on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days. He has over six years of service in the Major League, so he would be a free agent at the end of the season anyway. It’s possible he’ll accept an outright in hopes of potentially being reinstated in the roster if injured, but he’ll still be a free agent this offseason.