PORT ST. LUCIE — Leave to the Mets to make news the day pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor will see a hand specialist on Wednesday to have his left hand evaluated after experiencing soreness in his lower hand/wrist area over the last few days. The Mets are calling the injury a “stress reaction” but president of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged that hamate surgery could be an option.
At the moment, the Mets don’t expect him to miss any time during the regular season.
Outfielder Juan Soto will move from right field to left field this season. The club and Soto came to a mutual decision about the position switch after conversations in recent weeks.
“Making news right out of the chute,” Stearns said Tuesday at Clover Park.
It’s par for the course for a team that rarely has a slow news day.
Should Lindor need a procedure to repair his left hamate bone, he would still have enough time to get ready for Opening Day. The surgery carries a six-week recovery timeline, which includes time for him to play in Grapefruit League games.
“That is inclusive of a ramp-up period where he’s in Major League spring training games,” Stearns said. “He would be able to get into competition before the start of the season.”
Lindor has felt soreness in his left hand off and on for a few years but has been able to play through it. Stearns isn’t sure exactly when it got to a point where it worsened, only saying he alerted the training staff within the last “couple of days.” After examining him, the club’s medical staff determined he needed further evaluation.
The 32-year-old team leader hasn’t played fewer than 152 games over the past four seasons. He prides himself on being available on a day-to-day basis for the team, and somewhat famously begged the trainers to let him play through a back injury toward the end of the 2024 season when the Mets were trying to clinch a playoff spot. He opted against taking paternity leave after the births of his youngest two kids.
Lindor has reiterated several times that his goal isn’t necessarily to play all 162 games, rather, it’s to be healthy enough to play all 162 games. In 11 seasons, he’s made only two trips to the injured list, once in 2019, and once in 2021. He’s missed a handful of games over the last few years with the back injury, a broken toe, a finger injury and side tightness, sitting at the urging of the trainers.
The injury was independent from the decision by MLB’s insurance carrier to deny him coverage for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico’s captain wasn’t cleared to participate because of a minor procedure he underwent in the fall to clean out his right elbow, causing significant controversy in the final days of the offseason.
Houston Astros infielders Carlos Correa (Puerto Rico) and Jose Altuve (Venezuela) were also denied coverage.
Alternative coverage was sought for Lindor and Correa. According to a report by former Mets infielder Carlos Baerga, now a broadcaster, Bad Bunny offered to pay for the insurance for Lindor and Correa. Still, the two were not cleared to play.
Stearns said the Mets did not ask Lindor to forgo playing in the WBC. The tournament is owned by MLB and the MLBPA, and the insurance company used is National Financial Partners. It’s not clear which party decided not to allow the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist to fund the insurance coverage for the two infielders, or why.
“We had nothing to do with that,” Stearns said. “I actually don’t know why he wasn’t able to get insurance. Clubs have no part in that.”
The Mets have not decided who would play shortstop in the event Lindor is unable to start the regular season on time. Bo Bichette came to the Mets as a career shortstop, but signed to play third base. Stearns cited other infielders in camp as possible short-term replacements, including Vidal Bruján, Grae Kessinger, Jackson Cluff and Ronny Mauricio.
“I think we’ll tackle that when we get to Opening Day,” Stearns said.
The decision to move Soto to the other outfield corner also came recently. Stearns said the move was never on their radar, which is consistent with what the team said throughout the winter. The Mets offered right fielder Kyle Tucker a contract, hoping he would play left field.
The idea came about during a conversation manager Carlos Mendoza had with Soto, who was working out in left field in anticipation of playing there during the WBC for the Dominican team. Coming off of one of the worst defensive seasons of his career (-11 Outs Against Average, -13 Fielding Run Value), the Mets think having Soto play in left with either Carson Benge or Tyrone Taylor in right will be an optimal defensive alignment.
“We would expect Juan to have a better defensive year in right or left this year, and I think Juan expects to have a better defensive year in right or left,” Stearns said. “We were — and are — open to either, but it made sense for our roster, and certainly everyone feels comfortable having him in left field.”
