New York Mets Injury Wave Idles Omar Narvaez For Next Two Months

The hefty New York Mets payroll that leads the major leagues includes $27 million for catchers who can’t catch for them.

Omar Narváez, a 31-year-old veteran signed as a free agent during the winter, didn’t even make it to the home opener before he went down with a left calf strain considered medium to high grade.

He’s set to earn $8 million in the first year of a two-year deal that lured him from Milwaukee.

The Mets will also pay $19 million to James McCann, a disappointment during the first half of a four-year, $40.6 million contract the team dumped on the Baltimore Orioles.

A complicating factor is that Narváez can opt out of his contract after this season.

Narváez, who spent three weeks with Team Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic last month, is expected to miss 8-9 weeks.

Rookie Francisco Álvarez, recalled from AAA Syracuse, will replace him on the varsity roster, where is expected to share time with Tomás Nido.

A good defensive catcher, Narváez broke into the majors with the 2016 Chicago White Sox and then spent a season with the Seattle Mariners before joining the Brewers in 2020. He brought a .258 lifetime batting average into this season but hit a career-low .206 last year.

The lefty-hitting Narváez hit a career-best 22 home runs in 2019, when he also played 132 games, another personal peak. But he homered only four times for the 2022 Brewers.

Financial issues aside, the injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Mets, who suffered back-to-back one-sided shutouts in Milwaukee earlier this week.

Álvarez, who bats right-handed, is a home run hitter whose power could be a healthy addition to an anemic New York lineup. He came to spring training after hitting 51 home runs over the last two minor-league seasons.

With Narváez and Nido ahead of him on the team’s depth chart, the Mets sent Álvarez back to AAA Syracuse was orders to work on his defense. Now, he’ll have to get on-the-job training in the majors.

Should the Mets give the majority of their catching assignments to Nido, a strong defensive receiver, Álvarez could form a right-left DH platoon with incumbent Daniel Vogelbach.

Nido, who has hit 13 home runs over his six-year career as a reserve receiver, batted .239 last year but carried a lifetime .220 mark into this season.

The Narváez injury is the latest in a string of serious injuries that have hampered the Mets, who entered the year as strong contenders in a tough division dominated by the Atlanta Braves.

New York has also lost closer Edwin Diaz, out for the season after suffering a severe knee injury while celebrating a win for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and starting pitchers Justin Verlander (inflammation in his teres major muscle) and Jose Quintana (lesion on rib).

The latter is expected to be sidelined into July, though Verlander is due back later this month.

The team won 101 games last year, tied for the NL East lead with the Braves, but the division titles was awarded to the Braves because they won the season’s series from the Mets, 10-9. The Mets made the playoffs but lost the best-of-three Wild Card Series to San Diego and went home for the winter.

New York is seeking its first pennant since 2015 and first world championship since 1986. Its payroll sits at $336,233,332, according to Spotrac.