There were undoubtedly several Major League clubs more than a little disappointed that they weren’t able to take a shot at Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
After months of speculation as to which teams would likely be targeting Guerrero Jr. in free agency after the 2025 season, the Toronto Blue Jays locked up their superstar with a 14-year, $500 million deal. Now, the usual suspects – the only franchises that could have realistically offered Guerrero Jr. a competitive deal – will be looking to improve their roster in other ways next winter.
For one of those teams, Brian Germinaro of Rising Apple, the Mets-focused FanSided site, has a suggestion.
Germinaro encourages the Mets to follow the recent trend around the league of holding onto younger players while still under club control and buying out a few years of free agency. Germinaro offers that Francisco Alvarez is “a prime candidate” for this, saying the team should offer him a six-year, $105 million extension.
“In his two MLB seasons, he has slashed .221/.294/.423 with 37 home runs, 111 RBIs, a 98 OPS+, and a wRC+ of 99. While these numbers do not jump off the page, he has shown flashes that he can be the everyday catcher of the future,” Germinaro wrote. “If he can combine the power he had in his rookie season with his average and on-base of his sophomore season he can be a star.”
FanSided Analyst Says Mets Should Put Guerrero Jr. Money Toward Francisco Alvarez Extension
GettyNew York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday.
The Mets will certainly wait until Alvarez recovers from the fractured hamate bone in his left (catching) hand. It broke in early March while Alvarez was taking a swing at spring training, and he was expected to miss six to eight weeks following surgery.
It could be on the early side of that prognosis, as manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Alvarez is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday. But Mendoza stressed it’s too early to suggest Alvarez will be in the lineup for any April games.
“We’ll see,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s going to come down to him catching back-to-back, hopefully, nine innings. Getting four or five at-bats. But the progression starts kind of like spring training — five innings, off day, and we’ll go from there. But the fact that he’s going to start playing games and build competition, that’s a good sign.”
Francisco Alvarez, Jeff McNeal Scheduled to Begin Rehab Assignments
It’s the second consecutive spring interrupted by a crazy, fluky hand injury for Alvarez. In 2024, he tore the ligament in his left thumb after awkwardly falling on his hand on an aggressive turn at first base. Alvarez had surgery to repair it and missed nearly two months of the season.
It was overall a pretty disappointing season for Alvarez. In 100 games, he posted a .710 OPS with 11 home runs, a big dip from the 25 homers Alvarez blasted during his rookie season in 2023.
A late April return of both Alvarez and Jeff McNeal could boost a Mets offense that ranks in the bottom half of the league. McNeal, who has been out with a sprained oblique, is also close to beginning a rehab assignment, and Mendoza is optimistic about what they will bring to the team.
“It’s just going to continue to make our lineup a lot deeper,” Mendoza said. “When you’re talking about a right-handed hitter with power and a left-handed hitter in Jeff, bat-to-ball skills, batting average-type guy that can also drive the ball, it makes us deeper and also adds balance to our lineup.”
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Mets Urged to Make Big Contract Bet on Young Star