Francisco Alvarez 'not an immediate option' for Mets at DH

The first-place New York Mets began Tuesday holding a slim two-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings, but the Amazins nevertheless have repeatedly been linked with sluggers in trade rumors ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline. 

As SNY's Danny Abriano explained, Mets catching prospect Francisco Alvarez slashed .277/.368/.553 with 18 home runs and 47 RBI this season with Double-A Binghamton before his recent promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. Some wondered if Alvarez could potentially be an option for the big-league Mets this summer, but team president Sandy Alderson poured cold water over the idea during an appearance on "The Show" podcast with insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. 

"He was just moved to Triple-A, he's only played two or three games," Alderson reportedly said of Alvarez, per Abriano. "He's on his way to the Futures Game. But in those two or three games, he's getting his feet wet. He's only had 15 or 16 plate appearances, a couple of hits. He has shown some discipline at the plate.

"But in order for Alvarez to be considered, we have to see sustained performance over some period of time at Triple-A. And we haven't seen that, because he hasn't had the opportunity to do it. So I would say that's not an immediate option, that's not something we would rely on." 

Ahead of Tuesday evening, Alvarez had appeared in just five games with Syracuse. He notched two hits, a double and two RBI across 16 at-bats over those contests.