NEW YORK (AP) — Backup catcher Luis Torrens was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday by the New York Mets as they try to hang onto a playoff spot.
Torrens had been sidelined since Sept. 7 with a bruised right forearm. After going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts Tuesday in his lone rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse, he was available off the bench Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field.
New York began the day 1 1/2 games ahead of Arizona for the last National League wild card.
Starting catcher Francisco Alvarez was right back in the lineup after leaving in the eighth inning when he was drilled on the left arm by a 100 mph fastball from Padres rookie Bradgley Rodríguez.
“As soon as it happened last night, when I went out to the field, I thought he was going to be done. It didn’t sound good, from the dugout,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He was in pain, big-time. So I knew he was coming out of the ballgame, right? And then before the game’s over, he’s in the dugout with ice on it and with a smile on his face. I was like, wow.
“They checked him. I was concerned more about the elbow. But then talking to the trainers, it was more like the triceps area. So I was like, all right, I think we caught a break here.”
Mendoza marveled at displayed by the 23-year-old Alvarez, already playing with a broken pinkie on his left hand and a torn UCL in his right thumb.
“It’s amazing,” Mendoza said. “This guy is something else, man.”
To clear a roster spot for Torrens, the Mets optioned catcher Hayden Senger to Syracuse.
Torrens, an excellent defender with a rocket arm, was batting .225 with five home runs, 29 RBIs and a .635 OPS in 87 games.
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