Francisco Alvarez injury gives former Orioles catcher a potential landing spot

The Baltimore Orioles aren't the only organization dealing with a rash of impact spring training injuries as we eclipse the half-way point of the spring schedule.

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza informed reporters on Sunday that starting catcher Francisco Alvarez is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery on his left hamate bone. This coming one year after Alvarez missed nearly two months due to a thumb surgery on the same hand.

It's very unfortunate news for the 23-year-old backstop who was looking to rebound from an injury-riddled 2024 season and build on his promising rookie season back in 2023. In '23, he hit 25 home runs and appeared to be settling in well as the Mets' full-time backstop and middle-of-the-order thumper for years to come.

The Mets will now need to look elsewhere for catching help, with 28-year-old Luis Torrens being the only other catcher currently on New York's 40-man roster.

Absence of Francisco Alvarez could lead Mets to re-sign catcher James McCann

Alvarez's injury could open the door for former Baltimore Orioles backstop James McCann, who has yet to sign with a big league club as of March 10th.

McCann seemed like a logical offseason signing for the Orioles to once again serve as Adley Rutschman's backup, and a bridge option to top prospect Samuel Basallo making his major league debut, possibly sometime in late 2025. However, the Orioles brought in veteran clubhouse leadership by hiring fellow former Orioles backstop Robinson Chirinos to serve as Brandon Hyde's right-hand man on the bench and upgraded the backup catcher position offensively by bringing in veteran Gary Sanchez.

McCann and the Mets are familiar with each other, as the now 34-year-old catcher signed a four-year deal worth $40.6 million with them before the start of the 2021 season. Two years later, the Mets traded McCann to Baltimore, along with $19 million to cover the majority of the $24 million remaining on his contract, for a player to be named later. That PTBNL eventually become 20-year-old OF Luis De La Cruz, a player from the Orioles' Dominican Summer League ranks. It looks like he hasn't appeared in a single game in the two years since the trade.

Barring any behind the scenes issues between the Mets and James McCann, he seems like a logical signing for New York to be the primary backstop while Alvarez recovers from surgery. McCann didn't live up to his contract while with the Mets, but he appeared in just 61 games during the 2022 season due a hamate injury himself.

McCann endeared himself to Orioles fans last season after take a pitch directly to the face and staying in to catch the entire game, just so Rutschman wouldn't have to catch both games of a doubleheader that day. He would have been welcomed back in the Orioles clubhouse this season but a healthy McCann was likely wiling to bet on getting a starting gig somewhere else in free agency, even before the Orioles brought in Gary Sanchez.

No one wants to see a job open up in this manner, but it does appear that there is a major league starting job available in New York and James McCann seems to be the most logical fit there.