The New York Mets plan to activate catcher Francisco Alvarez from the injured list before their game Tuesday, the team announced, essentially a full month ahead of the original estimate after his meniscus tear.It’s hard for the Mets to make any firm decisions regarding the Aug. 3 trade deadline until they get healthier. Alvarez’s return marks progress. The Mets’ lineup is also missing Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. While Lindor may return at some point at the end of the month, he has yet to start a rehab assignment. The Mets shut down Polanco’s rehab assignment over the weekend.After winning seven of their last 10 games, the Mets (29-36) are five games behind the third wild-card spot. The Mets started a three-game series Monday at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals (35-28), who lead the wild-card standings.Alvarez’s return offers a power boost to the Mets’ inconsistent lineup, which has lately performed better. In six June games, the Mets average 4.33 runs per game with a .722 OPS, middle of the pack for the month. For the season, New York’s .661 OPS ranks ahead of only the San Diego Padres (.644), the team they took two out of three games from over the weekend. The Mets are slugging just .367, again edging only the Padres (.355).Alvarez was off to a decent start offensively. In 128 plate appearances, Alvarez hit four home runs with a .710 OPS and a 101 OPS-plus. The meniscus tear in Alvarez’s right knee happened on May 12 when he twisted his leg awkwardly while fouling off a pitch. The Mets originally offered a timeline for a return in late June or early July.Coming back from injuries isn’t the hard part for Alvarez. It’s avoiding them in the first place. He was mostly healthy during his rookie year 2023 (123 games played), but has otherwise dealt with various injuries.Without Alvarez, the Mets leaned hard on Luis Torrens (.598 OPS, one home run), the superior defender between the two and one of the league’s best defensive catchers. Backup Hayden Senger, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse Monday, made just six starts and played the entirety of the game only twice. Alvarez played in four rehab games with Syracuse and caught nine innings on Sunday.