Luis Torrens Has Morphed Into Baseball's Best Backup Catcher

[Yirsandy Rodríguez]

Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Mets will have many questions to answer after the disaster of this season, but they will also have important decisions to make. One of them will be deciding what they will do with backup catcher Luis Torrens, who appeared in some rumors of a possible trade during the trade deadline. Since arriving in New York in 2024, Torrens has fulfilled his role, especially on defense.

This year, he ranks fourth in the league with +5 Catcher Framing Runs. When Torrens is behind the plate, Mets pitchers have posted their best ERA (3.63), and their opponents have produced a .234/.313/.374 slash line, the best mark of all catchers on the roster. Over the years, his offensive profile has been very different, from the player who hit 13 home runs and posted a 101 wRC+ with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 to the catcher with a .629 OPS a year ago. It is also worth keeping in mind that he has not been able to get enough playing time as a starter and has not played more than 100 games since that 2021 season.

For any player, having to make continuous adjustments while taking on a backup role is a major challenge. However, this season, Torrens has made an interesting improvement in every aspect. By nature, his swing continues to stand out against fastballs, and he has an interesting profile against left-handed pitchers.

Handedness	wRC+	Hard%	IdealAngle%	xSLG	Barrel%
v L	120	32.0%	56.3%	.346	10.7%
v R	78	32.1%	49.0%	.348	6.8%

The big difference is his 120 wRC+ against left-handers, but overall, he has a good balance against both profiles. After an inconsistent start at the plate during the first half of the season, Torrens has made a significant turnaround after the All-Star Game. His wRC+ has risen from 69 to 180 in the second half of the season, and he has posted a 1.20 BB/K rate for the first time in his career. The only Mets hitter with more fWAR than Torrens (0.8) during this stretch has been Francisco Lindor (1.2).

Even more interesting in this offensive resurgence is seeing how Torrens is expanding the impact of his swing across the strike zone. Although his O-Swing% rate (31.2) is the highest since 2023 (38.6), when pitchers throw him pitches inside the strike zone, he is producing the highest contact rate of his career (87.9). The most revealing adjustment in this new approach from Torrens appears when we look at how his swing is impacting six of the eight areas of the strike zone against fastballs.

Let’s compare that sample with 2021, when Torrens hit 13 home runs with the Mariners.

2021 Torrens

2026 Torrens

He recorded all of his home runs in the upper two-thirds of the zone. But this season, in what we could call an updated version, Torrens has more reach and fewer limitations within the strike zone. Combined with his defensive gains since arriving in New York, this is now the most valuable version of him we've ever seen—his 1.8 fWAR in 2026 has set a new career high.

You never know what the Mets’ next move will be, but it seems reasonable that Francisco Álvarez (115 wRC+) and Torrens should be part of the future plans. As a backup, Torrens has actually outproduced the 1.7 fWAR Álvarez has contributed this year, offsetting his offensive flaws with elite defense that makes him one of the league's best backup catchers.

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[Cowtipper]

He really does need more appreciation than he's been given. Very quietly, he's hit 9 home runs with 40 RBI in just 246 ABs. Double that and it's 18 home runs and 80 RBI in 492 ABs, a respectable number for even a starting catcher. He has 2.2 WAR, which constitutes 56.4% of his career total. 2026 has really been a career year for Torrens. Pretty impressive for a guy who I, for one, thought was going to be a fly-by-nighter in 2024. 

I've criticized Alvarez for not living up to his hype (though I've been softer on Alvarez than I have on Baty and Vientos), but between them, Alvarez and Torrens have hit 25 home runs with 80 RBI and 71 runs scored in 604 ABs this year. Not bad at all. 

[smg58]

You can still hope for more from Alvarez, but catching has not been the Mets' problem this season.  Torres hits lefties well enough to be a must-start when you factor in his glove, and I think more games at DH will help Alvarez stay healthier in the long run.