The Mets felt comfortable sending Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse for a reset because, in part, they trusted Luis Torrens to handle the regular catching assignments in the present.
But Saturday, during the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Reds at Citi Field, a brutal gaffe by Torrens while he attempted a back-pick at first base allowed one run to score, positioned another to cross the plate later in the third inning and directly shifted the tenor of their second consecutive loss to Cincinnati.
“We’ve seen it at times where it’s kinda like a delayed pick to bases,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s just, in that situation, it’s not the right decision, obviously.”
Torrens, for the most part, has been defensively sound this season, committing just three errors entering the game while throwing out 13 of the 33 runners who have attempted to steal a base against him.
His bat has impressed at times and he went 2-for-3 with a walk Saturday, but the defensive layers to the position have served as his staples.
After TJ Friedl faked a bunt with runners on first and second in the third, Torrens initially twisted like he was going to throw behind Noelvi Marte at first.
But he paused, waited another second, then threw to second baseman Brett Baty, who was behind Marte near first with Alonso charging on the potential bunt.
The ball snuck past Baty and into right field, though. Jake Fraley scored easily.
Marte scooted over to third. And an early 2-0 lead for the Mets — which gave Clay Holmes some run support — evaporated one batter later when Mitch McLain singled to score Marte.
The back-pick wasn’t a designed play the Mets had called, Mendoza said.
Torrens, a pleasant surprise for the Mets after the Yankees dumped him for only cash considerations last year, was never pegged as their full-time catcher.
Splitting time with Alvarez had just as much to do with the 23-year-old struggling as it did with the 29-year-old maximizing his chances.
But with Torrens hitting just .167 with a .451 OPS entering Saturday in the full-time role since Alvarez went to Syracuse in late June, it could only be a matter of time until the latter returns.
Mendoza said beforehand that it could happen at any moment, and that was before Alvarez homered again — his sixth in the past four games and 11th in 17 Syracuse games.
And when he returns, Torrens’ fight for time behind the plate will start again.
Moments like his miscue certainly won’t help.
“We didn’t make a couple of plays,” Mendoza said of the defensive mistakes. “We gave them extra bases, extra outs and it cost us.”
