Insider insists Mets won't send Francisco Alvarez back to minors

One insider insists the track record of New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler shows Eppler will keep rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez with the big-league club through the summer. 

"Last May, the Mets designated Robinson Cano for assignment despite still owing him roughly $37.5M," Anthony DiComo of the MLB website wrote for a newsletter shared on Friday. 

"This spring, Eppler similarly made what he called a 'baseball decision' in carrying utilityman Tim Locastro over veteran Darin Ruf, essentially admitting defeat on one of the more prominent trades of his tenure," DiComo continued. "At the time, the Mets still owed Ruf $3.25M."

Individuals such as Jon Heyman of the New York Post previously mentioned Alvarez could head back to the minors when fellow catchers Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez returned from injuries because the rookie is the only one of the three with minor-league options. However, the Mets instead designated veteran catcher Gary Sanchez for assignment when they reinstated Nido on Thursday. 

Heyman also pointed out that Alvarez entered Thursday night leading "all catchers in most offensive categories in May."

According to ESPN stats, the 21-year-old began Friday slashing .304/.381/.661/1.042 with five home runs and 11 RBI this month. Three of those homers occurred across four games played between May 17 and May 24, and the Mets have won four of their last five contests that featured Alvarez earning multiple at-bats. 

"Give Alvarez the job, and don’t look back," one National League scout told Heyman about who should start at catcher for the Mets moving forward. 

DiComo wrote that Mets owner Steve Cohen has proven he's willing to spend money on top-tier free agents and to eat deals like the one attached to Sanchez. Per Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors, Sanchez's prorated salary on his MLB contract is worth about $1.1M.

"The Mets won’t want to make a habit of that sort of thing, but in these types of circumstances, they can afford -- quite literally -- to do the right thing," DiComo added. 

The 26-25 Mets trail the first-place Atlanta Braves by five-and-a-half games in the NL East standings heading into Friday's series opener at the 22-29 Colorado Rockies.