Francisco Alvarez back in Mets’ camp after hand surgery, hopes to return to lineup in 6-8 weeks

PORT ST. LUCIE — Francisco Alvarez was back in Mets camp Wednesday following surgery to remove the fractured hamate bone in his left hand.

And the catcher said he was frustrated that he would miss time due to a hand injury for a second straight season, although he hopes to be swinging a bat again in three weeks and back in the lineup in six to eight weeks.

“My goal is to make it [back] as quick as possible,” Alvarez said.

A year ago, Alvarez was sidelined for nearly two months with a torn ligament in his left thumb suffered on April 19, part of a disappointing second season.

“It’s hard to lose time during the season,” Alvarez said in the Clover Park clubhouse Wednesday. “It’s not good. I’m working the whole offseason to try to be healthy and that happened. It’s hard for my mind. It’s hard for me. But I’ve got to keep going.”

Alvarez suffered the injury on a swing and said he “felt a little pop.”

“I knew something bad had happened,” said Alvarez, who added he couldn’t grip the bat with his left hand after the break.

In Alvarez’s absence, Luis Torrens is expected to fill in, while the Mets could look to add a backup catcher once rosters are trimmed down later in the spring.

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But they are counting on the 23-year-old’s power to return to 2023 form.

“It’s on me,” Alvarez said of his comeback from the injury. “If my body takes more time than normal [to recover], then maybe it takes eight weeks. But it’s on me. If I feel comfortable, if I feel good, I can move quicker.”

Alvarez was slumping last year even before the thumb injury, with a .652 OPS in his first 16 games. He had an up-and-down rest of the regular season after his mid-June return.

Though Alvarez said the thumb injury did not impact his effectiveness last season, he’s waiting to see how he rebounds from this one.

“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Alvarez said. “It’s a quick recovery. I don’t think I’m going to lose strength in my hand. I’m very strong.”

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Paul Blackburn pitched four perfect innings for the Mets with two strikeouts in their 2-0 exhibition victory over the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla.

The right-hander, who is vying for a rotation spot, liked that he could use all of his six pitches after focusing on his sinker and sweeper in his previous appearance, in which he struggled.

“I can’t do that with how my stuff is,” Blackburn said. “I have got to pitch and keep guys off balance and I feel like we kind of got back on that track today.”

Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill are the candidates for two spots in the five-man rotation to begin the season.