The Mets Have A HUGE Decision To Make...

The Mets have a massive decision to make. Luis Torres is absolutely dominating at the backstop for the Metropolitans currently and has had a great season, overtaking former top prospect Francisco Alvarez. And the question now becomes, moving forward, is David Stearns going to continue to commit long-term to Alvarez as the Mets' catcher of the future? Or pivot to the player who's been objectively better, especially on the defensive side of the ball? What's going on, guys? I'm Josh Byrne. You're tuned into Mets Digest. Guys, thanks so much for all the recent support. It does not go unnoticed. 67% of viewers are not subscribed, so if you're enjoying these daily updates, please do consider doing so. And of course, you can follow us on TikTokX and download the show wherever you get your podcasts. Now, look, David Stearns has not been great in totality as the Mets' general manager. That's stating the obvious. But one thing that he has done a really good job of is finding veteran players who've been basically cast off, who've been written off and deemed not suitable for other organizations. Guys who, to, you know, a casual fan, wouldn't really excite you. One of those guys at one time was Luis Terrence, who the Mets picked up for cash considerations from the New York Yankees back in 2024. And this video is going to detail about the direction the Mets are going to go in, particularly for next season at catcher. But regardless of which side of the equation you're on with regards to that argument, the fact of the matter is that Luis Terrence has been, since he was acquired by the Mets, the best backup catcher in baseball. You don't believe me? How many backup catchers in baseball have put up over two wins above replacement this year? Not many starting catchers in baseball have. Francisco Alvarez certainly hasn't. And not only has he been tremendous defensively, but offensively, he has burst on the scene in a big way. He's always been known for getting those clutch hits, it feels like. But now he has an OPS over 700. He continues to mash. And when you think about the reasons why the New York Mets are playing so well, Luis Terrence is at the front and center of that. As are other guys, of course Soto's playing a big role in Doerr, despite being in a down year, is producing. They're getting overall a good performance from their bullpen, except for last night. But they still won because they scored a lot of runs, and Luis Terrence had a big part of that. But no, the reason that you stick with Luis Terrence long term isn't because of what he's going to provide offensively. But defensively, he is a serious contender to be the best in the game. I mean, those are his metrics defensively. You can't knock him for anything. He is a game changer at the backstop. And when you combine his offensive numbers, which are the best they've ever been in his career, and I don't know if you can expect him to continue this kind of production next season. I do see him as more of a low 600 or mid 600 OPS guy. But even if he is, if you combine that with his defense, he would still be one of the top 12, top 15 catchers in major leagues. And then you have to ask yourself this, is the total package of Luis Terrence better enough by a wide enough margin over Francisco Alvarez to say it might be time to move in a different direction and not just pencil in Alvarez to be the starting catcher next year? Now, the Mets have essentially already gone away from Francisco Alvarez being their everyday catcher. And the reason I say that is because oftentimes he's DHing. And I've been a big proponent of that for the whole year because Francisco Alvarez for a catcher is above average offensively. Has he turned out to be the star that we expected him to be when he was the number one prospect? No, absolutely not. But at the same time, he's got tons of power. He barrels balls up and it equates to an OPS that's in the low to mid 700s, which by the way, isn't that much higher than Terrence at this point. But the point being is that despite the disappointment of Francisco Alvarez, he gives you that threat in the lineup that you don't generally have from the catching position when you look at the players in today's game at that position. But then we have to go back to that initial question. And that initial question is, is it worth it? Is it worth it to stick to the 24 year old? And it is crazy that he is still 24. But the facts are the facts. He is still 24. And it makes you roll your eyes sometimes because after debuting in 2022 and hitting 25 home runs in 2023, you would have liked to have seen more development, more linear acceleration in his skills since then. And it just hasn't been the case for one reason or the other. He's had terrible injury luck. Guy's gotten beaten around. But unfortunately as a catcher, that's something that you have to expect. And obviously I'm not blaming him for the injuries. It stinks. But when he's been on the field, particularly this season, there's a number of red flags. A, the weaknesses in his offensive game that are holding him back from being a truly significantly above average hitter are still shining through. The guy swings at a lot of pitches that are out of the plate. He'll come up in a big spot, Alvarez will, and you'll swing at three straight breaking balls that are one to two feet outside. And I'm not saying that Luis Terrenz is Johnny Bench or anything or Mike Piazza by no means, but he has made the disparity in his offensive game from Francisco Alvarez's offensive game close enough where you say, I mean, there's no point in primarily starting Francisco Alvarez over Luis Terrenz at catcher because Terrenz is giving you elite defense and Alvarez has allowed a ton of pass balls this year. I would say he has an average RBI known plate. He's had seasons where he's graded out well defensively, but it's been a couple years since that. And it's always been one thing. Either he's too inconsistent offensively or the defense is crushing him or both. And for that reason, if you're looking to contend next year, which the Mets are, Luis Terrenz, who is inked to a two-year deal and will be around next year, in my view, needs to be the everyday guy over Francisco Alvarez, who then becomes a candidate to be traded. And here's my view on this. I think the Francisco Alvarez trade discussion is very interesting. As much as I'm in favor of Luis Terrenz getting the everyday at bats, the catching market is very weak. There is a good chance that another team is going to view Francisco Alvarez more highly than what one would necessarily expect given what Alvarez has accomplished or perhaps lack thereof. So with that in mind, it may be more appealing to float him out on the market. That being said, if you cannot get a worthwhile return, whatever that means for David Sterns, but I would think he'd want young pitching, which is one of the weaknesses still, I believe, in the Mets farm system. Despite adding a lot at the trade deadline to the system, I still think they're lacking in starting pitching. I know Jonah Tong's up and I know Jonathan Santucci's making noise, but they still need starting pitching in the minors. Not necessarily saying you're going to get a future ace for Francisco Alvarez, but again, considering how weak the catching market is and how few catchers are able to produce 20 plus home runs a year and considering Francisco Alvarez is 24, I do believe there is a chance they could get something good for him. And if that is the case, I'm all for trading him. However, if they can't get that kind of package, I think you have to hold on. Because even if you do name Luis Terrenz the starting catcher next year, Luis Terrenz has never been an everyday catcher before. He would be setting a career high in at-bats games played. There would still be days where Francisco Alvarez is catching and Francisco Alvarez would still be getting at-bats through the DH spot and through the days where he would spot start for Terrenz. Now, the problem with DHing him, outside of the fact that he's slow as molasses, is that from a DH you really want an OPS over 800 at least. And Alvarez has never done that. He's really good offensively for a catcher in today's game. That doesn't mean he is good enough to produce DH, everyday DH numbers offensively. And that's why it might not be a bad idea to float him out there on the market. But if you can't get a worthwhile package, one that makes you go, wow, how did we get this for this kind of player, then I would hold on to him. The Mets still have control over Alvarez. I would say there is a good shot he will have a better year next year because a lot went against him this year. And for the same exact reasons that he would have a good trade market this year, he probably will next year too. But at the end of the day, regardless of whether the Mets trade Alvarez or not, the Mets have a huge decision to make. And ultimately the decision should be Luis Terrenz is your everyday catcher in 2027. Let me know what you guys think down in the comments below. Luis Terrenz, Francisco Alvarez, who do you want the Mets catcher to be next year? And how do you feel about the idea of trading Francisco Alvarez? Comment below, let me know. And as always, guys, let's go Mets.