rewrite this title Mets’ Hayden Senger proves he should get more MLB chances

Francisco Alvarez is close.

The young catcher sat Thursday after playing consecutive days and is set to catch games with Double-A Binghamton on Friday and Saturday, after which he could be ready for his season debut.

“We will have a conversation after he gets through those two days and see if he needs more at-bats and if he feels like he’s ready to go,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday of Alvarez, who required surgery last month to remove the fractured hamate bone in his left hand.

Once Alvarez’s time arrives, this major league chance likely will end for Hayden Senger — but the belief is there will be more chances to come.

Senger, a 27-year-old rookie who has toiled in the minor leagues for nine seasons, has impressed, particularly defensively, in his first 11 games as a major leaguer.

He has thrown out three of five potential base-stealers with an arm that apparently is unrivaled in baseball.

Among 64 catchers who have thrown to second base this season, Senger’s average velocity of 88.7 mph is the best in the game.

Dating back to his childhood, he always has known he has a gifted arm.

He honed the gift during the early days of the pandemic in 2020.

Without a team to play for, Senger worked out at PRP Baseball in Indiana and looked around at all the equipment that was intended for pitchers: weighted balls and medicine balls designed to build arm strength.

“That looks like fun,” he thought, and he had some time on his hands.

“I’ve always had that top-range velocity,” Senger said, “but getting to it is easier now.”

In his first taste of the majors, Senger has handled pitchers well, owns strong framing and blocking numbers and has hit a bit.

He has gone 5-for-22 (.227) with a double and has proven an adept bunter.

Quality defensive catchers find a niche in the game even if they are not asked to do much offensively.

“Getting the opportunity is something that is special to me,” Senger said before he backed up Luis Torrens as the Mets beat the Cardinals 4-1 at Citi Field. “It’s been an honor to be here with this team.

“I’ve kind of always thought I could catch in the big leagues. It was just the hitting part that I’ve always had reservations about. But now I feel like I can give them a [quality at-bat] right now.”

Jeff McNeil went 0-for-3 and started in center field with Low-A St. Lucie as the Mets search for other options after Jose Siri fractured his tibia.

Recovering from an oblique strain, McNeil is expected to join either Binghamton or Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday and play back-to-back games in the infield.

Tyrone Taylor started in center, and Mendoza said he would be comfortable using Brandon Nimmo — a former center fielder who has been pushed to left — at the spot. It is possible that Luisangel Acuña, who played some center field in the minors last season, becomes an option.

“We’ll see,” Mendoza said of Acuña. “He’s going to spend a lot of time out there with Antoan [Richardson, the outfield coach].

“… He’s playing well, so he’s earning opportunities here.”

The Mets also called up outfielder José Azócar, who could see time at center.

In summoning Azócar, the Mets optioned righty Justin Hagenman, officially placed Siri on the 10-day IL and recalled Max Kranick, who had been briefly optioned Wednesday.

Brett Baty (2-for-3 with a double and RBI) has hit safely in five of his six past games.

“Baty is showing the things he’s capable of,” Mendoza said.

Paul Blackburn (right knee inflammation) is expected to throw two innings with High-A Brooklyn on Saturday.

Darryl Strawberry, who was on hand to support the Mets’ annual Black Legacy Game that celebrates the history of black Mets players, was informed that the Department of Defense had scrubbed and later restored an article about Jackie Robinson’s service in the army.

“Shame on them if they do that,” Strawberry said. “Shame on them because of a person that had to fight so hard, and wasn’t just fighting for himself. He was fighting for any player of color that puts on the uniform, from black players to Latin players. No one puts on a uniform, of color, if it had not been for him and the door was open for him to do that. So it would be a shame if they can’t keep that right, keep it the way it should be because it represents something more than just you can probably ever imagine.”

— Additional reporting by Andrew Crane