New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has suffered a broken left pinky after being hit in the hand while batting during his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed on Thursday ahead of his club's series opener against the Miami Marlins.

The break in his left pinky is believed to be a small fracture, which offers the hope that he can still return to action early next week. The 23-year-old was seen at Citi Field throwing with that recovering right hand, but a trainer was catching the ball for him.

"The early reports are that we're going to wait for the inflammation to come down, maybe two or three days, and then we'll get him going again," Mendoza said. "This should be relatively short, but again, this is a setback compared to what the

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