New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will undergo surgery on a broken left hamate bone and miss six to eight weeks, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Sunday, another blow to a team already dealing with spring training injuries.

Alvarez, 23, was expected to play an integral part in a Mets season with high expectations after the 15-year, $765 million free agent signing of Juan Soto. After a rookie season with 25 home runs in 2023, Alvarez hit only 11 last year while missing nearly eight weeks recovering from surgery to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.

"It's always tough when one of your guys goes down like that," Mendoza said. "But again, you've got to keep going. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. Everybody deals with injuries. We'll get him back."

Alvarez will undergo surgery Monday, Mendoza said, after injuring the hamate -- the knobby bone underneath the pinky and ring finger -- during live at-bats Saturday.

Hand injuries often sap players of power, though Alvarez's defensive bona fides helped keep him a fixture in the Mets' lineup when healthy. While Alvarez was expected to hit behind a hefty lineup that includes Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo, veteran Luis Torrens now is in line to take over the frontline catching duties.

"It's a big blow when your starting catcher goes down," Mendoza said. "But guys will step up. Guys will get opportunities. We feel good with what we have in-house. Pretty sure David and the group will be looking for outside as well, as he always does. But you hate to see it."

Torrens, currently the only catcher on the Mets' 40-man roster, will have big shoes to fill. Over the last two years, Alvarez has been worth nearly five wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs while hitting .222/.294/.422 and driving in 110 runs in 223 games.

Torrens, 28, joined the Mets in May last year when he was traded from the New York Yankees for cash. In his one season with near-full playing time -- 2021 with Seattle -- Torrens hit .243/.299/.431 with 15 home runs in 378 plate appearances. With the Mets last year, he batted .229/.292/.373 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 130 plate appearances over 47 games.

The injury to Alvarez adds to a list of unfortunate happenings for the Mets this spring after their billion-dollar winter they hoped would help them overcome the Los Angeles Dodgers after a National League Championship Series loss last year.

Left-hander Sean Manaea, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract to return to the Mets after being at the forefront of their surprising playoff run, strained a right oblique in late February and will be retested early this week, president of baseball operations David Stearns said, to determine whether he can start a throwing program.

The news on Manaea followed right-hander Frankie Montas, another offseason signing for two years and $34 million, straining his right lat on Feb. 17. Like Alvarez, he is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

Utilityman Nick Madrigal, signed this winter as well, is expected to miss the season after dislocating and fracturing his left shoulder.