Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has fractured pinkie after getting hit by pitch in rehab game

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has a small fracture in his left pinkie after getting hit by a pitch while on a minor league rehab assignment — but it might only slow him down a few days.

Alvarez is on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. He began a rehab assignment Wednesday night with Triple-A Syracuse and doubled his first time up against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the New York Yankees' top affiliate. He caught five innings, but exited the game after getting dinged on the left hand by a pitch.

Alvarez was back at Citi Field on Thursday before the Mets hosted the Miami Marlins. He was scheduled to see doctors in the afternoon.

“The early reports are, we're just going to wait for the inflammation to come down, probably two or three days, and then we'll get him going again," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "So this should be relatively short, but again, obviously it's a little bit of a setback compared to what the original plan was.”

Alvarez injured the thumb on his throwing hand on a headfirst slide into second base Aug. 17 during the Major League Baseball Little League Classic against the Seattle Mariners in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The injury will eventually require surgery, but Alvarez plans to return to the lineup as soon as possible and play through any pain down the stretch as New York tries to secure a playoff berth.

Now, he's got another ailment to overcome.

“We’re not going to put him in a position where like, it’s very uncomfortable. As tough as he is, he’s human,” Mendoza said. “So, I think we’ve got to get him to a point where it’s manageable, because now we’re talking about the receiving hand, too. But again, it’s a small fracture and we’ve just got to wait. It comes down to making sure we’re not putting the player in a position where he’s in danger.”

The 23-year-old Alvarez is batting .265 with seven homers, 24 RBIs and a .787 OPS in 56 major league games this year.

New York's top catcher, Alvarez began the season on the IL with a hamate fracture in his left hand. He was activated April 25, then demoted to the minors in June for about a month following a slow start on offense and defense.

But he tore up Triple-A pitching, was recalled July 21 and has been a force at the plate since returning, batting .323 with four homers, 11 extra-base hits, 13 RBIs and a 1.054 OPS in his last 21 games.

“Obviously, he’s frustrated. I mean, it’s been hard for him. And we’re talking about hand injuries. You know, he goes down there and first game he gets hit in that (third) at-bat. It’s not easy," Mendoza said. "But also understanding that there’s still hope. There’s still (the feeling he will) get back this year and help us win baseball games. ... He’s very strong mentally, physically, and he’ll get through this.”

Mendoza said Alvarez had no trouble making practice throws between innings for Syracuse, but he wasn't really tested.

“The ball was coming out fine. Good intensity, good carry,” Mendoza explained. “But again, we’ve got to wait and see when it happens in real action, when he’s got to do the transfer and get the ball in the air as quick as possible and put something on the throw.”

Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger have filled in at catcher for the Mets in Alvarez's absence.

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New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez hits a three run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez follows through on a double off Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby, driving in a run, during the second inning of the Little League Classic baseball game at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez grimaces after being injured sliding into second during the seventh inning of the Little League Classic baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez, center, is tend to by first base coach Antoan Richardson (66) and manager Carlos Mendoza after being injured sliding into second during the seventh inning of the Little League Classic baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.

Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.

Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)