NEW YORK -- In his latest setback, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was diagnosed with a fracture in the pinkie finger in his left hand, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Thursday.

Alvarez sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch on his left hand during a game for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. Mendoza said Alvarez will wait until the inflammation in the finger diminishes -- he estimated two or three days -- before resuming baseball activities. The third-year catcher was already on the injured list and on rehab assignment with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb.

"This should be relatively short," Mendoza said. "But, again, it's a little bit of a setback compared to what the original plan was. But when you're talking about you get the news, 'oh, he's got a fractur

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