Update 12:30 p.m.: The Mets announced catcher Omar Narvaez has a medium to high-grade strain of his left calf and placed him on the Injured List Thursday afternoon. The typical timeline for a return to play is 8-9 weeks.
It looks like top prospect Francisco Alvarez will be a Met for the home opener, but not for the reason that the team would like.
The feeling around the Mets on Thursday morning was that catcher Omar Narvaez would probably need a stint on the Injured List after leaving Wednesday’s game with discomfort in his left calf.
“I felt tightness,” Narvaez said in Milwaukee. “I’d rather call it for a day and be safe for the next day. I couldn’t put myself at risk for the whole season. I wasn’t going to play the hero.”
The Mets don’t have the final results of imaging on Narvaez, but will likely be able to make a determination by late Thursday. They are not optimistic about his ability to avoid the IL.
Alvarez, who has already been summoned to New York, would then be activated before Friday’s game.
Narvaez, signed as a free agent last winter, has been excellent on both sides of the ball in the early days of the season, batting .286 and contributing strong defense.
Alvarez struggled in major league spring training this year but has homered twice in four games for Triple-A Syracuse while posting a 1.056 OPS.