NEW YORK -- Backup catcher Luis Torrens was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday by the New York Mets as they try to hang on to a playoff spot.
Torrens had been sidelined since Sept. 7 with a bruised right forearm. After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Tuesday in his lone rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse, he was available off the bench Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field.
New York began the day 1 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the last National League wild card.
Starting catcher Francisco Alvarez was right back in the lineup after leaving Tuesday night's 8-3 victory in the eighth inning when he was drilled on the left arm by a 100 mph fastball from Padres rookie Bradgley Rodriguez.
"As soon as it happened last night, when I went out to the field, I thought he was going to be done. It didn't sound good, from the dugout," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "He was in pain, big time. So I knew he was coming out of the ballgame, right? And then before the game's over, he's in the dugout with ice on it and with a smile on his face. I was like, wow.
"They checked him. I was concerned more about the elbow. But then talking to the trainers, it was more like the triceps area. So I was like, all right, I think we caught a break here."
Mendoza marveled at the toughness and determination displayed by the 23-year-old Alvarez, already playing with a broken pinkie on his left hand and a torn UCL in his right thumb.
"It's amazing," Mendoza said. "This guy is something else, man."
To clear a roster spot for Torrens, the Mets optioned catcher Hayden Senger to Syracuse.
Torrens, an excellent defender with a rocket arm, was batting .225 with five home runs, 29 RBIs and a .635 OPS in 87 games.