Francisco Lindor Could Miss Six Weeks With a Wrist Injury

New York Mets star Shortstop Francisco Lindor could miss multiple weeks after it was announced today that he’s dealing with a stress reaction in his left hamate bone. Lindor is seeing a specialist about soreness in his hamate bone. Even if he needs surgery, the belief is that he will be available for opening day.

If he does need surgery, it would sideline him for 6 weeks, David Stearns told the media earlier today. Stearns seemed optimistic that Lindor would be ready by opening day, either way, but, as we all know, return timelines can change. After a stellar offseason, losing Lindor to start things off would be a huge blow for the Mets.

Lindor Will Miss Time

Regardless of whether or not he does in fact need surgery, Lindor will not be ready for the start of Spring Training. While an injury to your left hamate bone isn’t severe, it can still have a significant impact and needs careful treatment. He likely feels pain on the palm side of his hand, just below the pinky finger. This injury makes it harder to grip things, so stepping into the box and using a bat as a switch hitter isn’t easy. 

He’ll need to take time off to heal it, and we’ll know by tomorrow how bad it truly is and whether or not he will need to have surgery. The surgery will remove the broken fragment entirely. This allows for a faster return, approximately 6 weeks. If he does need surgery, he still would need to ramp up and play in minor league games, meaning he’d miss time in the regular season.

Who Will Take His Spot?

Stearns said today that we may see Ronny Mauricio and Vidal Brujan as names to play shortstop during Spring Training. Mauricio hasn’t seen consistent playing time since he came up to the Majors, but he could get an extended run with Lindor sidelined. Brujan, on the other hand, has more experience, but won’t add much to New York’s lineup. 

Giving Mauricio more playing time would be fun and exciting, and it would give the fanbase an opportunity to see his full potential. He’s shown flashes at times, and would be their best option if Lindor is not ready to go. Mauricio would be able to fill in for a short time in the regular season and wouldn’t be asked to do much offensively. Not to mention, Bo Bichette and Juan Soto should be able to carry the load and make up for Lindor’s missed production.

The Mets Will Be Fine

It doesn’t sound like Lindor’s injury will affect the team long-term. If it did, Stearns would have made a move to keep the left side of the infield afloat. It’s good that the issue will be resolved early enough so that he’ll only miss a handful of games in the early part of the season. 

If guys like Luis Robert and Marcus Semien can get back to who they were a few years ago, the Mets will have one of the strongest lineups in all of baseball, even without Lindor. Once the severity of his injury is known, we’ll get a better idea of how the lineup will look and how Manager Carlos Mendoza can shift the necessary pieces around.