Mets’ Alvarez (thumb) progressing in recovery
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Francisco Álvarez checked off another box Saturday in his return from tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb last month.
The New York Mets catcher took batting practice on the field Saturday for the first time since injuring the thumb sliding into second base against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 19. He took more than 20 swings before the Mets hosted the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field.
Asked if he took the swings at full strength, Álvarez pointed out that he hit a ball 115 mph. That, he joked, said it all.
“I’m very happy and excited to be back on the field,” Álvarez, 22, said. “I’m very happy with how everything is going.”
Álvarez, who underwent surgery on the thumb April 23, explained he is still a few steps away from going on a rehab assignment. The next checkpoints include hitting off a pitching machine to face velocity before facing live pitching and catching bullpens.
The Mets announced a six-to-eight-week timeline for Álvarez following the surgery. Tuesday marks five weeks.
“I don’t know if it’s a few more weeks or days,” Álvarez said. “It’s really how is everything going? If I keep feeling good, if I keep doing good, if I don’t feel nothing in my thumb, my batting cage is feeling good, maybe it’s a couple of weeks, a couple of days.”
Álvarez said he sought out advice from Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Pérez, a fellow Venezuelan who sustained the same UCL thumb injury in 2022. Two years later, Pérez, one of the most productive hitters in the majors this season, told Álvarez about the recovery process and the need to take his time.
The Mets, meanwhile, have had some of the worst production in the majors from the catcher position without Álvarez. Mets catchers Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez have combined to for a .194 batting average since April 20, the fourth-worst mark in the majors. Their collective 38 wRC+ ranks 28th, ahead of only the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs.
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.
The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.
Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.
“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”
Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.
The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.
Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”
Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.
Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.
Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.
Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).
The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.
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