Francisco Alvarez (thumb) placed on injured list

LOS ANGELES — The Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the injured list Saturday with a sprained left thumb, which he injured running the bases during Friday’s 9-4 win over the Dodgers. To replace Alvarez on the roster, the Mets promoted Tomás Nido from Triple-A Syracuse, while designating reliever Kolton Ingram for assignment to clear roster space.

Alvarez sprained his thumb while stumbling on the basepaths, putting his left hand on the ground to break his fall and bending his thumb back in the process. He exited the game after that inning, and Omar Narváez replaced him behind the plate.

With Alvarez sidelined for at least 10 days, Narváez will become the primary catcher. Nido, who was off to a hot start at Syracuse, batting .345 with a homer in nine games, should also see time.

Alvarez has taken a beating behind the plate throughout the young season. Most recently, he was shaken up Wednesday when Pirates catcher Henry Davis struck him on the mitt with his swing, resulting in a catcher’s interference call. Manager Carlos Mendoza described that issue as unrelated to Friday’s thumb injury.

“It takes a lot to get him out of a game,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “I knew he was in extreme pain as soon as he came out of the game. I felt bad for him. I felt bad. I felt for him. I’ll be praying for him, and I know everyone in this clubhouse will be doing the same thing.”

In what is technically his first full big league season, the 22-year-old Alvarez was batting .236/.288/.364 with one home run in 16 games. He has also added significant value behind the plate, ranking in the 92nd percentile in Statcast’s catcher framing metric.