New York Mets starting catcher Omar Narvaez has been diagnosed with a medium- to high-grade strain of his left calf and will be placed on the injured list.
Narvaez underwent an MRI on Thursday and the Mets said the typical timeline for his injury is eight to nine weeks.
Top catching prospect Francisco Alvarez is set to join the Mets after Narvaez goes on the IL, according to multiple reports. Alvarez was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in baseball before the season by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
Alvarez was off to a hot start at Triple-A Syracuse, hitting two home runs in four games with an OPS of 1.056.
Narvaez left Wednesday’s 7-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers after feeling “tightness,” he told reporters after the game. Tomas Nido replaced Narvaez in the ninth inning of the Mets’ walk-off loss.
Narvaez, 31, was batting .286 with two RBIs in his first five games with the Mets. He signed a one-year deal with the team in the offseason.
Narvaez is a career .258 hitter with 51 home runs and 193 RBIs in eight seasons with four teams. He made the All-Star team in 2021 with Milwaukee.
Reuters contributed to this report.