Francisco Alvarez is one step away from Queens.
The top prospect was informed Saturday that he will be promoted from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.
Alvarez, the big-hitting catcher, destroyed Double-A pitching through 67 games in which he posted a .921 OPS with 18 home runs. Alvarez likely will report to Syracuse on Monday.
The promotion places the 20-year-old phenom on the cusp of the majors and improves the odds that he could slug his way to the majors before he can legally drink. It still is no sure thing — and because so much is demanded from catchers, a call-up to the Mets likely would arise from a need at DH — but the possibility is now greater.
The Mets have about a month before the trade deadline, when they will need to decide whether they should add another righty hitter. That could be Alvarez if he treats Syracuse’s competition the same way he treated the pitchers in Double-A.
Francisco Alvarez runs a drill during spring training.Cory Sipkin“I think Vladdy, Acuña, Tatis Jr. — those guys were in my spot and they’re already in the bigs,” Alvarez told The Post’s Greg Joyce last month, referring to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr., who all made their MLB debuts as 20-year-olds.
“So I want people to treat me as a man. That’s how I feel.”
Buck Showalter came to the Mets with a reputation for having his players’ backs. On Saturday, the manager affirmed that notion.
Speaking before his team’s 7-3 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, Showalter conveyed his desire to see his players rightfully represented in the All-Star Game this month.
“I really like to support our players’ feelings,” Showalter said. “We have multiple guys, good four or five, I thought today [you could] make a real strong case for.”
Second baseman Jeff McNeil heads Showalter’s list. Before he sustained a hamstring injury in June, the 30-year-old was putting together a solid comeback season.
“[McNeil is] a guy that you know should be on the All-Star team,” Showalter said. “He’s the leading second baseman in about everything — on-base percentage, batting average, multiple-hit games, keep naming them.”
McNeil’s .319 batting average, .378 on-base percentage and 23 multi-hit games entering Saturday led all second basemen in the National League. His .451 slugging percentage, .829 OPS and 75 hits placed him within the top five among second basemen the majors.
Though McNeil, who went 0-for-1 in a pinch-hitting appearance in Saturday’s loss, wasn’t voted as a starter. But Showalter still has hope he will be named to the team.
“They’ve tried very hard to make it as fair as possible and have different avenues to get the most deserving people there and also represent the game properly,” Showalter said. “Hopefully it’ll get corrected and he’ll go where he deserves to be.”
McNeil was not the only Mets player to receive praise from Showalter. The skipper made sure to recognize closer Edwin Diaz, who was named NL reliever of the month for June after posting a 0.93 ERA.
“Edwin just wants to win,” Showalter said. “He’s kind of come to grips with who he is and what he has to do to be successful. He also understands how fleeting it can be.”
David Peterson left the Mets on a 12:15 p.m. flight to Denver to tend to his wife, Alex, who is expected to give birth to their son any day. The lefty’s departure came shortly after his strong start versus the Rangers on Friday, in which he tied his career-high of 10 strikeouts over six innings.
Peterson has yet to be officially placed on the paternity list. The Mets will monitor his situation to see if he needs the maximum 72 hours.
“He’ll be back when he thinks it’s appropriate to come back — it’s he and his wife’s decision,” Showalter said. “We’re hoping for good things for him and his family. I got a couple of fatherly words of advice for him.”
Trevor May threw 10 pitches off a mound Saturday for the first time since being shut down on May 3 with right triceps inflammation.
May had seven victories and a 3.59 ERA over 68 relief appearances in 2021, formidable stats that Showalter argued are often overlooked.
“Sometimes we underestimate how much we missed the Trevor May from last year on the club this year.”
The Mets partnered with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to honor Jett “Macho” Diaz and sign him to a major league contract. Diaz, a New Windsor, N.Y., native, signed his deal while sitting between Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler. He later threw out one of the first pitches of the game while wearing a full Mets uniform.
