Struggles Continue for Francisco Alvarez

The 2025 regular season got off to a rough start for Francisco Alvarez before it even started. A fractured left hamate bone in March delayed Alvarez’s start to the season, leaving folks wondering if he would hit for power when he returned.

Alvarez started his rehab assignment one day shy of a month after his surgery, and returned to major league action six weeks after. Since his return on April 25, the 23-year-old has struggled in every phase of the game outside of throwing runners out. On Tuesday night, he went 0-for-3 with a walk, strikeout, and a couple of plays on defense that hurt the Mets in their disappointing extra-innings loss to the Braves.

With the Mets up 4-1 in the bottom eighth inning in a bases-loaded situation, Alvarez and Reed Garrett disagreed on what to throw to Marcell Ozuna. Garrett wanted to go with a fastball, but Alvarez decided on the splitter, and that’s what was thrown. Ozuna tied the game with a bases-clearing double. Alvarez had the chance to redeem himself in the bottom of the 10th inning when Luke Williams got caught between second and third on a pitch that got away from Francisco. Instead of throwing to third and likely getting Williams out, Alvarez threw to second, and Baldwin was safe at third. Williams would score the winning run just a few pitches later.

Through 33 games, Alvarez is hitting .235/.323/.313 with only three doubles and two home runs. Hamate injuries are notorious for sapping power from hitters, and Alvarez is currently posting a career-low in slugging percentage (.313) and isolated slugging (.078).

However, the hamate injury might not be the only thing holding Alvarez back from hitting for power. Eric Chavez talked to the New York Post last August about what he was hoping to change for the young Alvarez:

For some reference, Chavez is talking about the 2023 season when a 21-year-old Alvarez hit 25 home runs. Those 25 home runs were the second most by a catcher in the majors that year, behind only Cal Raleigh‘s 30. Alvarez did hit just .209 that year and posted a .284 on-base percentage, but his .228 isolated slugging was four points higher than Raleigh’s.

Speaking of Raleigh, he currently leads MLB with 27 home runs. Another stat he leads MLB in is pulling the ball in the air, at 37.8%. Alvarez is pulling the ball in the air only 10% of the time this year, around the same range as hitters like Nick Allen, Trevor Story and Alex Call. When Alvarez slugged 25 home runs in 2023, he pulled the ball in the air 19% of the time. To be fair, not everyone needs to pull the ball in the air to be successful; guys like Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. are typically in the 12-15% range.

Alvarez showed he could be a powerful hitter back in 2023, and that came with pulling the ball in the air, which can be a key component for players trying to hit for power without elite bat speed.

While Alvarez has struggled in nearly every facet of the game this year, his offensive calling card of hitting for power completely evaporating could be the most disappointing part.

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