{"id":38225,"date":"2025-03-03T06:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T06:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=38225"},"modified":"2025-03-03T06:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T06:52:13","slug":"report-mets-francisco-alvarez-working-on-new-swing-in-hopes-of-turning-things-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=38225","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Mets’ Francisco Alvarez working on new swing in hopes of turning things around"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Mets'<\/p>\n

FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Francisco Alvarez proclaimed the Mets \u201cthe best lineup in baseball\u201d shortly after his spring training arrival at Clover Park. The task now is making sure he\u2019s a big part of the reason why.<\/p>\n

And in that regard, Alvarez very much remains a work in progress.<\/p>\n

You can probably say that about a high percentage of major leaguers with the calendar having just flipped to March. Opening Day is still more than three weeks away.<\/p>\n

For Alvarez, however, this isn\u2019t about merely stacking up reps or fine-tuning some trusted mechanics. He underwent what amounted to a swing-renovation this offseason, tinkering with a number of pressure points designed to make him a better all-fields hitter, with last year\u2019s teammate, J.D. Martinez \u2014\u00a0the resident clubhouse batting guru \u2014\u00a0pointing him toward\u00a0an Atlanta-based coach for winter workshopping.<\/p>\n

To call this an experimental phase for Alvarez,\u00a0a young slugger who has\u00a0already had success in the majors,\u00a0sounds too alarmist. But it definitely could be characterized as a spring-training project, and Alvarez is going to need every possible Grapefruit League at-bat to get where he wants to be.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Alvarez played back-to-back games during the Mets\u2019 weekend trip along Florida\u2019s west coast, and didn\u2019t have much fun Sunday in their 6-4 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. He painfully absorbed three hard-hit foul balls behind the plate, then went 0-for-3 beside it, with two groundouts back to the mound and a swinging strikeout.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s key takeaway? Alvarez came through in one piece. As for the numbers, they\u2019re still at the mostly meaningless stage. He\u2019s hitting .200 (3-for-15) with three singles and seven strikeouts\u00a0through six games. But Alvarez, at 23, is still a developing player entering what will be his third full MLB season, so I asked him Sunday when he\u2019d like to see some impactful production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see results during the season,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cSpring training is for working. I know what I\u2019m working on. Sometimes it\u2019s tough for me to do in the game, but I\u2019ll just keep going. I believe in what I\u2019m doing. I really like what I\u2019m doing. So I just got to be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

The objective, according to Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez, is to prevent Alvarez\u2019s hips from flying open too soon, a glitch that made him more vulnerable to off-speed pitches in the past. He\u2019s tried to \u201cquiet\u201d his swing mechanics \u2014\u00a0holding the bat more upright, hands tighter to his body. Even what seems like a few minor tweaks can feel like an overhaul, but Chavez sees this update as crucial to Alvarez\u2019s development as a hitter,\u00a0as well as the Mets\u2019 ability to wreck opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hope is that he has more direction going towards the middle and his hips are in a good place,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cThat\u2019ll keep him on off-speed pitches a little bit better. He really needs to take the next step in hitting lefties. We have a lineup that we should demolish lefties. A lot of teams get exposed by facing lefthanders or righties, but we have a balance of both, so it shouldn\u2019t really matter. But that\u2019s an area we definitely could do a lot better in. Alvy\u2019s a big part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against a typical righthanded starter, Alvarez figures to hit seventh, between Jesse Winker and Jeff McNeil. The way the Mets\u2019 lineup is designed, as Chavez explained, they can alternate righty-lefty basically one through nine, a favorable alignment that protects them through the rungs of an opposing team\u2019s bullpen.<\/p>\n

Among that group, however, Alvarez could have the most to prove coming off a down season by his standards. After hitting 25 homers over 123 games in 2023, Alvarez dipped to 11 in 100 despite an OPS-plus that slightly nudged over league-average to 101. From one season to the next, his ground-ball percentage soared from 44.0% to 52.2%. Chavez said that the \u201cgifted\u201d Alvarez will always be lethal due to his bat speed, but this is about doing more consistent damage. And these Grapefruit League games are now crucial to transforming those swing changes into lasting muscle memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s timing and feel,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cI keep telling him, trust your work. It\u2019s just seeing velocity changes everything. You can work on whatever you want to in the offseason, but there\u2019s no velocity. There\u2019s no adrenaline. So trust in his work. There\u2019s some little things that we\u2019re trying to navigate through, but he\u2019s very positive and he likes the direction he\u2019s headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvarez, by nature, is unfailingly upbeat. Which is why his darkening mood last season was the surest indication that the prolonged struggles were eroding his confidence. It became increasingly difficult for Alvarez to shake off being a drag on the lineup. But now that he\u2019s brought a new swing into camp, it\u2019s like that weight has been lifted.<\/p>\n

Going forward, however, Alvarez needs to do his share of the heavy lifting. In a multi-dimensional Mets lineup stacked with perennial MVP candidates, 40-homer mashers and on-base specialists, Alvarez has the potential to be a game-wrecker come Opening Day. He\u2019s a pivotal piece in turning the Mets\u2019 dangerous lineup into a deadly one. But he\u2019s got to get this revamped swing down first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not rushing,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m in a good position.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll need to be after putting the Mets on the spot with that February boast. If Alvarez is right at the plate, those words will be prophetic.<\/p>\n

\n

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball’s Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The objective, according to Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez, is to prevent Alvarez’s hips from flying open too soon, a glitch that made him more vulnerable to off-speed pitches in the past<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nREPORT: Mets' Francisco Alvarez working on new swing in hopes of turning things around - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=38225\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Mets' Francisco Alvarez working on new swing in hopes of turning things around - 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