Feb. 11: Lindor will indeed undergo surgery to address the injury, manager Carlos Mendoza announced to reporters this morning (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The Mets haven’t officially ruled him out for Opening Day, but there’s obviously a decent chance he won’t be ready to begin the season.
Feb. 10: Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is being evaluated for a hamate bone injury, per president of baseball operations David Stearns. The five-time All-Star would face a six-week absence if the injury requires surgery. Steans told reporters, including Jorge Castillo of ESPN, that he’s confident Lindor would be back for the beginning of the season even if he has surgery.
Lindor underwent a debridement procedure on his right elbow early in the offseason. Insurance coverage issues related to the injury kept the Team Puerto Rico captain out of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The announcement from Stearns is the first mention of the hamate injury. Lindor is set to be examined to determine the next steps. The Mets open the season against the Pirates on March 26.
The 32-year-old Lindor missed a month with an oblique strain in the middle of his first season with the Mets in 2021. Since then, he’s been the picture of health. Lindor has played in at least 152 games in four straight seasons. He’s piled up 680+ plate appearances each year in that stretch, including a league-leading 732 this past year. Lindor hasn’t been on the IL since the 2021 oblique issue.
The six-week timeframe would leave little breathing room for Lindor to recover in time for Opening Day, if he were to undergo surgery. The shortstop has been dealing with the stress reaction in his hamate bone over the past few days, Stearns said (relayed by Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com). Hamate bone issues have a history of sapping power from hitters. Lindor has been a 30-homer hitter for three straight years.
The Mets have a handful of in-house options available to replace Lindor if he misses any time. Free agent acquisition Bo Bichette was ticketed for third base, but could move back to his natural position of shortstop. Bichette’s declining skills at the position narrowed his list of suitors and led to him landing with a team that didn’t need him up the middle, but he could survive at short until Lindor ramped back up.
Ronny Mauricio spent the majority of his minor league career at shortstop. He’s been mostly a third baseman in the big leagues, though that’s mostly due to Lindor’s stranglehold on shortstop. Vidal Bruján is the only other player with recent shortstop experience on the 40-man roster.
Losing Lindor’s bat for any amount of time would be significant for an offense that will look quite different in 2026. Mainstays Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso have departed, along with midseason acquisition Cedric Mullins. Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr. are now in the mix, along with Bichette.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Ouch.
Bo goes to short, Baty to 3rd. Not a huge problem.
Yes, that’s what they will likely do Machine but six weeks? This injury can be tricky. I recall Papi being out a lot longer than that.
Bo was a horrific fielding SS.
True but you can do worse than Bo at SS. At least he will replace some of the offense lost from Lindor.
Definitely. Bo’s bat is elite.
You can’t do much worse than Bichette at SS. He was in the 4th percentile in FRV and a 1st percentile in OAA meaning he had the absolute worst range at the position. . His DRS was the worst among qualified SS, his FRV was the worst among qualified shortstops, and his OAA was the worst among qualified shortstops.
If a player was worse defensively at SS, teams quickly moved them off the position,
VPH
“Bo was a horrific fielding SS.”
And a very valuable SS
If Lindor is out long-term, then I’d think it’d be more likely they move Bichette and play Baty at 3rd
Short-term, I’d think they’d just put like Mauricio at SS and let Bichette settle into 3rd
Mets aren’t putting Bichette or Mauricio at SS. It’ll be Brujuan or someone like that as long as it’s short term.
The Mets GM has already said that they will not move Bichette off 3B. Case closed.
Huge as Bo sucks at short and Baty can’t hit
Baty was not that terrible.
Baty looked very good the second half.
@dewey: Never Remember is that blackpink troll. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
…EVER!!!
Lindor will be back by opening day, so they will replace him with a good glove in spring training and keep Bichette at 3B to get reps there since he has not played that position before.
Yup. I seriously doubt Bo will see much (if any) time at SS during spring training.
This is what proves that MLB doesn’t have a level playing field. If Cleveland lost Jose Ramirez, their season would basically be over. But if the Mets lose Lindor or the Dodgers lose one of their 17 MVPs, it is “not a huge problem.” Losing a guy like Lindor SHOULD be a huge problem.
what if the dogers lost ohtani fully (bat and pitching) or the yankees lose judge. What if in the nfl the bengals lost burrow who isnt even their best player. What if the lakers lost luka?
Seems more there are too many teams and teams like the indians should consolidate with another like the brewers or reds if it is a revenue thing or have the owners kick in more money. Dont forget that Cleveland owner was atleast last year tied with the Boston owner as the 4th richest owner at 5.5 Billion which is more than yankee owner which is 1.6 billion
If the Dodgers lose Ohtani, it would be negligible. He is a great DH, but still just a DH which is the position that is most easily replaced. They would just trade for an overpriced hitter from another team. As far as pitching, they did fine without him pitching a couple years ago. They have plenty of pitching without him.
If the Yanks lose Judge, it would hurt worse. But they would still have an OF of Bellinger, Grisham, and top prospect Domiguez. And they would also likely pick up a big salary that some other team need to get out from under if they wanted.
The NFL is a completely different animal because they have a salary cap. Although I do find it puzzling that you used the Bengals, one of the smallest markets in the league, as your example.
The NBA is a different animal for a different reason. That sport can be completely dominated by a single player unlike baseball. If you take the best player off ANY NBA team, they would be in big trouble. But for your example, the Lakers would probably just con another small market team into giving them a star for nothing like they did with Kareem, Kobe, Gasol, and Luka.
@Roll
Please don’t compare the Dodgers or Mets piggyback to that of any other owner. It’s night and day when you consider not the personal wealth but the financial might of Guggenheim and 74. But in terms of personal wealth most business prefer to operate on a revenue vs expenses novel where you spend out of what the business earns not borrow money from yourself to fund the team. You might be able to go over budget short- term but not year to year.
Why not? the Guggenheim invested a ton to get the dodgers where they are now and the team is now worth triple what they bought it for. and bringing in more revenue than any other team in baseball which used to be the yankees.
Cleveland has done also triped the teams value in a shorter time frame but are still spending the same payroll as they did when they bought it. They havent changed even for inflation. They operate around the same revenue as the Orioles but yet the Orioles payroll is usually double that of cleveland and thats before the big spending this offseason. Cleveland has the money to invest on the team so that they can have a 2nd star next to ramirez or trade for a big dollar contract like the yankees. The owner would rather improve his wallet than the team. This goes for majority of the revenue share teams as barolo mentioned below.
@roll
People still don’t understand the power of what the Dodgers can do, and the latest revenue numbers prove it.
In 2024, the Yankees generated $705 million in revenue—the highest in MLB. The Dodgers were right behind at $701 million. Both spent around $310 million on payroll—roughly 44% of their revenue. On the surface, they look competitive.
But the Dodgers aren’t operating according to their revenue. They’re borrowing against Guggenheim Partners’ $350 billion in managed assets, using that capital to invest in deferred contracts that smaller market teams cannot replicate. And that $310 million payroll? It doesn’t include any of the deferred money they’re pulling from Guggenheim.
Hal Steinbrenner’s personal wealth is around $4 billion. The Yankees are a family business—the Steinbrenners own the majority, not all of it. Add their $705 million in revenue, and you’re at roughly $4.7 billion in total firepower.
Mark Walter’s personal wealth is $8 billion—already nearly double Hal’s—and he wouldn’t have to touch a single dollar of it. Walter also owns stakes in the Lakers and LAFC, generating revenue from multiple sources.
If a day was worth $1 million, Guggenheim’s $350 billion equals 958 years. The Yankees’ total firepower? 13 years.
As a Yankees fan, I want them to spend. But let’s be clear: Hal has reinvested more revenue into the team than almost every other owner in baseball. The Dodgers are now matching that reinvestment rate, but the difference is Hal can’t put the team in a financial hole to outspend them. When there’s a major need and the right player comes along—like Soto—Hal has proven the willingness to swing deep. Remember, that $750 million offer wasn’t deferred.
This isn’t baseball operations anymore. It’s financial engineering that 28 other teams can’t touch.
hf
“If the Dodgers lose Ohtani, it would be negligible”
No. Losing the best player in baseball would not be negligible.
Floor
It’s a fair point, but the real blame are on the middle and lower payroll teams that collect $$$ from revenue sharing and don’t spend. PIT (w this off-season being the outlier) never spends money, and at least half of the AL doesn’t even bother to compete for a playoff spot before the season even starts. LAD maximized their exploitation of the current CBA. The Mets have spent less wisely and with their bloated payroll finally have some depth on the roster.
Bo will be on the IL with knee problems.
Wonder why the Jays didn’t resign?…they know something.
No
Stearns has said they do not want to move Bichette around he will stay at 3B
Except for the part about losing an MVP caliber player
Injuries suck. Sorry Mets fans. Looks like Bo not starting out at third just yet…and lessens the chance of a Pirates/Mets trade.
The Mets might be better off with Baty at SS over Bichette. He does have better range.
The statue of Gary Carter at CitiField has better range,
Uh oh.
Middle infielder market just picked up.
Who’s left?
Jose Iglesias.
Santiago Espinal.
On a vet minimum type deal, he’d be great. I think they’ll give Brujan a real shot as backup SS, but I’ll always love Jose Inglesias on the Mets bc he is such a net positive in the clubhouse and can still get some hits. Not an every day guy, but a great veteran who contributes on and off the field.
The Mets aren’t going to pick up Iglesias to fill in at SS for at most two weeks. They wouldn’t even if they didn’t have Semien, Mauricio, and Bichette on the roster.
Why not Luis Rengifo?
I mean they have Bo for SS and they keep Baty at 3rd. Maybe they grab an extra IF like Rengifo to help out but they have the personnel there.
Either way that sucks for them after a successful offseason, and hamate bone injuries can sap some power for a bit.
The Mets don’t need anybody else they’re fine. Players are going to be injured. That’s just the name of the game. They don’t need to grab an extra IF don’t be chicken little I promise you the sky is not falling.
Aren’t the Mets overstocked here even without Lindor?
Don’t like that for the Mets. Wishing Lindor the best.
hopoes and prayers
What an odd time to discover the need for a surgery.
Doesn’t seem odd to me. He got to camp 3 days ago.
Not really, GMs are giving their end of offseason/pre-ST pressers and they often include out of the blue injury announcements for stuff that happened over the winter, i.e. O’s GM Mike Elias randomly announcing Kyle Bradish had suffered an elbow sprain during an offseason workout at the start of ST in 2024.
Hamate injuries are fairly common among golfers, so it’s not shocking at all somebody could show up to spring training needing some work done on his wrist.
Hand. A wrist injury requiring surgery would be way more concerning.
Hamate is a bone in the wrist. Surgery TBD.
Thanks! I stand corrected.
To be fair it’s kind of both, as far as us laymen are concerned. It’s one of the carpal bones that connect hand and wrist. It’s vital to the function of each. The good news is it’s a lot less serious than a tendon or ligament. With rest and surgery he’ll be perfectly fine in a month or two.
nope,
Precise Location
It sits in the distal row of carpal bones, just above the wrist. [theskeleta…system.net]
You can find it by tracing down from your ring and pinky fingers toward the base of your palm. [biologyinsights.com]
It articulates with the 4th and 5th metacarpals, the lunate, triquetrum, and capitate bones. [kenhub.com]
Operative phrase in my comment being “as far as us laymen are concerned.”
Those of us who aren’t practicing doctors don’t really need to sit and nitpick the precise location of wrist and hand bones that most couldn’t even name.
I mean The Doctor has spoken! Aren’t you impressed?
I learned something I highly doubt I’ll ever need to know again, and actually already forgot at this point in my typing!
LMAO WESTCOASTMETSFAN
The wrist is part of the hand.
Being pedantic just for the sake of it you truly epitomize this site.
February 11th will now be known as Hamate Awareness Day.
And he wanted to play in the WBC!
This is likely why he wasn’t getting insurance.
He hurt himself in the hand.
Because they’re starting to do baseball activities again
Who did he punch?
I think they said it happened swinging a bat.
at Jeff McNeil
McNeil no doubt would have deserved it. I rooted for him for years, but he really wore out his welcome with his emotional outbursts and lagging production. You can’t suck in the clubhouse and on the field and expect to stick around.
this is what alvarez had and sapped all his power, makes me nervous!
Alvarez also can’t stop chasing sliders
EXACTLY! Plenty of guys have seen their power zapped after a hamate fracture. Lindor is also a slow starter, most of his April stats are not great across seasons.
Kind of an exaggerated narrative. Since being with the Mets in 5 seasons he’s had 2 seasons where he was good in March/April being 2022 & 2025 then he’s had 2 very bad March/April starts with OPS below .640 and then a so-so March/April with a mid .700s OPS. So split right down the board, he’s been consistently inconsistent at the plate in the early part of the year throughout his Mets tenure.
Hamate injury is know to sap power. No spring training. Might be inclined to rush him back if they get off to a slow start. Not great, Bob!
He slept on his hand and twerked it getting out of bed.
He should take his time, like 6 months, to return.
Cohen “Stearns, take a billion down to the robotics comment and get Lindy a new arm. We need him catching those relay throws from Soto in short right field”!!
considering this team intends to make it deep into the post season with Bichette and Polanco having virtually no experience on the corners, wouldn’t it be a better strategy to let those two guys spend the entire spring and season at their new positions and let a guy like Mauricio take the reps at SS until Lindor is back?
Yes, that makes more sense to me. Spring Training will be the best lowest risk way to break each player into their brand new positions.
Mauricio plays short, Bichette can be an emergency backup SS if Mauricio has to miss any games between now and Londor’s return.
*Lindor’s return
Mauricio can’t hit and I doubt he can’t play short effectively either.
Lindor is expected back by opening day so Mauricio would only need to play SS in spring training. It doesn’t matter if he can hit since the games don’t count in the standings.
I wasn’t recommending Mauricio or thinking about who else could fill in at short.
I was more focused writing my prior post on the importance of leaving Bichette at 3B rather than delaying his move several weeks between now and Lindor’s return.
Mauricio CAN play short and the Mets have messed around with that kid BECAUSE Lindor wasn’t going anywhere. They’ve had him playing second, third, taking reps in the outfield etc
Let him settle back in at short and see what he really can do. Now is the time.
And sit Lindor down. Not every year, but LIndor tends to get off to slow starts in colder weather, then heats up as the temperture rises.
Let him heal without rushing back.
Mauricio makes Bichette look like a gold Glover. Terrible fielder.
Except this year, he has Correa.
If Lindor misses the first 7 days or so, I’d rather see Mauricio at short than Brujan who is above average (he is NOT Acuna), but has no bat. Then Brujan for a week as the back up.
Good call on Mauricio. I hadn’t seen anyone include cold weather in the reasons for Lindor to take it slow, but that makes tons of sense… especially with hand and wrist injuries.
On an unrelated note, I’m also a Joe Buzas fan. Did you know or follow him in Salt Lake, New Britain, Savannah, or somewhere else?
No one makes Bichette look like a Gold Glover. Bichette is, was, and will remain the worst fielding SS in the game.
As Ronny Mauricio may be this year for the Mets, Joe Buzas was to the Yankees of 1945.
He was their Opening Day shortstop in 1945 because Phil Rizzuto was in the Armed Services (it was WWII, not an injury). Mauricio couls do the same for the 2026 Mets.
I worked for Joe B in New Britain, Reading and for an extremely brief time in Salinas., as well as other minor league front offices.
And your comment is right on about keeping Bichette at third all Spring if he is to play there when Lindor comes back. Fact is Mauricio could play short until they started messing around with the kid’s head BECAUSE he would have to move somewhere else then LINDOR plays nearly EVERY GAME.
You can’t just say to these guys “hey, play over there today and over there tomorrow, when they have played SS their whole life.
Mauricio can hit and can field , but may be better suited long-term at sexond base. And he has some pop in his bat. He needs that chance. He needs consistency. This may be the best time to know.
Ouch, those can be rough. Some players can take a lot longer to recover than others. For his and the Mets sake, I hope he doesn’t rush it.
That’s a huge bummer. He’s a really fun player and the key to that team.
He can make it back in several weeks but it can take up to a year to get the power back. Fortunately he brings value from other parts of his game so they need him out there as soon as possible.
It’s a stress reaction in the hand & wrist, common among golf and baseball players. I’ve had one myself before from golfing – they don’t feel good. Played the worst round of my life trying to play through it with a compression wristband on, which was not worth it. It mostly affects your ability to grip, but if you cease activity and let it rest for several weeks they can recover on their own. The surgery basically guarantees it will not be an issue again because they remove the broken portion of the bone.
He absolutely sucks for first month of season with spring training. How bad will
He be without any at bats
Already Mets?
I would probably still keep Bichette at 3B and let Mauricio play SS if Lindor misses time
One day before pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie.
I agree. If the season was starting tomorrow, then Brujan is at shortstop. Ronny is only 24 and, one hopes, is not yet a finished product, particularly at the plate. In 125 games at AAA he has an 0.887 OPS. He missed all of 2024 due to an injury, so his development has been delayed, but spring training of 2026 is a good time to see what he can do at SS. A middle infielder who can hit the crap out of the ball is worth devoting some resources to. Baty looked like a bust until last year, then got 3.1 WAR in 130 games.
And that’s why you didn’t get insurance
I have been saying…”Trade Lindor”. Convenient that he brings this up right before spring training starts. Lindor knows the Mets fans, and I bet this is a blessing (premeditated?) for him to miss the beginning of the season. The Mets fans are not too happy and will be bringing the BOOO HORNS to the ballpark come April.
Why would it be convenient? Are you really saying that he planned the injury? I assume you are not a fan, but this is pretty non-sensical.
He is a fierce competitor who has played through injury before, unlike two of the three guys you are obviously angry about being gone.
Are you saying BOO HORNS or boourns.
This is a lot better injury than it could be. Better this than the knee, shoulder or elbow.
No need for over reaction. Brujan, Kessinger, Mauricio, etc…are here for this purpose. Why would you screw up development of Polanco and Bichette when it is relatively short term??
Heck, give Baty a few innings out there..! Ha!
It does make me wonder about the WBC if he was going to play through the pain or if it literally just happened working out.
Alvarez was back and actually hit better after he got the mechanics right…
I had this same injury. This thing lingered and caused problems for almost a decade. Hopefully they have a better medical staff than a Private Div 1 School from the late 90s
Get the procedure sooner than later I’d say.
You get a hamate injury, and you get a hamate injury, and you get a hamate injury!
Then what?
Then I get a hamate injury, and you get a hamate injury!
Everybody get a hamate injury!
Mauricio opportunity perhaps
At least, the Mets have like 5 other shortstops on the roster. Gunna miss Lindor’s bat tho….
Must be a sale on hamate repair this week.
Bad day to be a bunch of little bird bones in your hands.
The Year of the Hamate.
Hamate & cheese on rye
Why now and not last year ?
How many hamate fractures we gonna see in one day? This is like the dozenth one. Its goin round like the flu
My question: Why are there so many hamate injuries?
Social contagion
And Alonso will play his usual 155+ games this year.
Yeah, that was quite the bonus on June 12th, eh?
for the last week i’ve heard way too much about hamates and wuthering heights
The hamatapocalypse continues
For the past 2 seasons Lindor has horrible stats in Mess losses and good stats in their wins.
That means that when he’s moody and unproductive, the Mess lose.
Doesn’t that mean that he’s a negative force for the team?
MLB is a marathon. Great players are consistent.
A player of his regard needs to be more consistent and not affect the rest of the team.
Lindor isn’t the solution to the Mess for me…the opposite of that. Yet he’s being banked on as the guy to keep long term. I predict the Mess will never have more than 2 more competitive seasons during his tenure.
Is he going to become now the Mess version of Trout?
If the 6ish wks are to be believed, Lindor should be back close to opening day, but w hamate bone injuries, power seems to get zapped for more weeks/months, which is worrisome. I’d rather the Mets keep Bichette at 3B to get more reps through ST, and put Baty at SS. With Soto moving to LF, and Benge up in the air if he can stick on the roster for Opening Day, the Mets’ roster is a lot more flexible than the past couple of seasons w 4+ DHs and almost no reliability from the bench.
Baty at SS?
With Semien, Mauricio, and Bichette on the roster?
You’re out of your French toast mind.
Holy smokes. 3 hamate surgeries in 1 day. What’s going on?
Why would he wait until now?
Jeez isn’t that three guys down with hamate fractures already?
Lindor has played most games but he also has a chronic back pain condition (like many professional athletes and non athletes). He has been able to manage that with the trainers and medical team but could flare up at any time. Currently the Mets have enough internal options to give Francisco more rest. Ideally the Mets would start giving him more off days to rest during the season
Smart move
Get well soon quick, Lindor!
Brings to light why team Puerto Rico couldn’t get insurance for Lindor. Sorry Miguel Rojas, guess it wasn’t racism after all…
Good thing they didn’t build the team around him…oh… wait..oh…no…
It’s at least comforting to know that Lindor will still be on the bench to start some drama with the new Mets players!
Lotta players breaking their hamates lately. What the f are they doing in the offseason?