But this season, Alvarez, the youngest of the group, took it a step further and began talking to the media in English. When Buttó saw him holding court in the Mets clubhouse after he reported for spring training, it inspired him to do the same. Marte then did his first spring training scrum in English as well.

“When I saw Alvarez’s interview, I feel very proud because we always took English class together,” Butto said. “And it’s good when you see guys like him talking with [media members] normally.”

Normalcy is the key. Another language is starting to feel normal for them. Alvarez often asks third baseman Brett Baty and minor league third baseman Mark Vientos for help, but he has found that as he speaks the language more it becomes easier.

He’s not afraid to say something wrong, knowing how forgiving people will be with the learning process. He would forgive English speakers for making a mistake in Spanish, knowing it’s not their first language.

“It’s not that hard,” Alvarez said. “If you’re thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t talk, I might make a mistake,’ you just can’t worry about it.”

Buttó is teaching his young son some English words. His wife learned when she was younger, though being in Venezuela with his son, he knows she may lose some of the language. Still, Buttó remains proud of his own bilingual skills and even prouder that his son will grow up knowing some English as well.

As for Alvarez, the proud part is seeing his teammates follow his cue.

“I feel really proud,” he said. “It makes me feel really good.”

Bullpen moves

The Mets continue to make moves to ensure they have available arms in their bullpen. Monday, ahead of a three-game road series against San Francisco Giants they optioned right-hander Grant Hartwig to Triple-A Syracuse and designated right-hander Michael Tonkin for assignment, then called up left-hander Josh Walker from Syracuse and reinstated right-hander Sean Reid-Foley from the 15-day injured list.

These moves were somewhat expected since Tonkin and Hartwig won’t be available to pitch for a few days. Tonkin had pitched two days in a row in Los Angeles over the weekend and Hartwig picked up multiple innings in relief of Adrian Houser on Sunday in a loss to the Dodgers.

However, it was a tough move for Tonkin. The Mets designated him for assignment earlier this month and traded him for cash to the Minnesota Twins a few days later. The Twins placed him on waivers last week and the Mets jumped at a chance to bring him back. But once again, it was tough to keep him around. Tonkin, a journeyman reliever who played in Japan and for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent Atlantic League, was signed by the Mets in part because of his ability to pitch multiple innings. But that requires him to rest for a few days after a long outing and without any minor league options the Mets didn’t have much of a choice. They needed fresh arms in the bullpen. Tonkin is 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in six appearances this season (9.0 innings).

The Mets don’t have a ton of relievers with options this season so there will be tough decisions made all year.

Reid-Foley started the season on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. He joined the team this weekend in Los Angeles and traveled to San Francisco with the group. Walker has gone 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings with Syracuse this season.

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