The New York Mets are hopeful that star shortstop Francisco Lindor won't have to miss time to start the regular season after left hamate bone surgery.
We’re only a few weeks away from Major League Baseball Opening Day, one of the most exciting moments of the season.
The New York Mets open their season with a three-game home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates but could potentially be missing their star shortstop.
Francisco Lindor underwent surgery on a stress reaction in the hamate bone in his left hand on Feb. 11, and although the Mets are hopeful he won’t miss games to start the season, the recovery timeline is six-to-eight weeks minimum. If he came back after only six weeks, that would mean he is cleared by Opening Day.
However, the concern is that while he may actually heal in six weeks, players typically require much longer to get back to their normal selves due to how important the hamate bone is to hitters.
The hamate bone is crucial for grip strength and power. It could take a while for Lindor to get his strength back and to get comfortable holding and swinging the bat again, which could dampen his offensive output early on. The Mets would probably be better off making sure he is 100 percent instead of rushing him back onto the field – put Bo Bichette at his natural position and have Brett Baty play third base.
Despite the chance he could miss some time whether the Mets are willing to admit that or not, Lindor is one of the league’s best players and has been for quite some time. His impact runs deep on offense, defense and on the bases, which is why ESPN ranked him as the 16th-best MLB player on their top 100 list for 2026.
“How quickly Lindor taps into his usual production at the plate following a surgery that can sap a hitter's power for months is another story,” Jorge Castillo wrote Wednesday. “The revamped Mets will need him to produce to make a real run.
“The hamate surgery leads to a slow start before Lindor gets on track, finishing with 20 home runs, an OPS of .800 and 5 fWAR,” Castillo predicted.
All things considered, if Lindor can hit 20 home runs with an .800 OPS and produce around 5 WAR, that would be incredible. The fact that Lindor is extremely durable makes me believe he will do everything he can to convince the Mets that he’s ready to go before the opener against the Pirates.
He has played at least 143 games in eight of his 11 MLB seasons and has played less than 125 games just twice, his rookie season and the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he played in all 60 games.
Lindor has accumulated 55.7 WAR, 1,664 hits, 279 homers and 856 RBI while posting a career slash line of .273/.342/.475 (.817 OPS) across 1,535 games. “Mr. Smile” is a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glover, Platinum Glover and a future Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done.