New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has elected to undergo surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand to correct a stress reaction in the area. The procedure will carry a 6 week recovery period, meaning that Lindor could theoretically still be available for Opening Day.
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters that the 32 year old has been playing through soreness “for a couple of years”, with discomfort increasing over the last few days. As a result, the team sent their star infielder to see a specialist who, in conjunction with Lindor and the Mets medical staff, decided that surgery would be the best path forward.
“If we get to the point where we get closer to Opening Day and there are questions about Francisco, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Stearns told the press. “But, at this point, we’re optimistic that regardless of what Francisco needs, he’s going to be ready for Opening Day.”
Should Lindor miss time, Bo Bichette, Vidal Brujan, Ronny Mauricio, Christian Arroyo, and Jackson Cluff are all candidates to reps at shortstop in 2026.
Despite dealing with a variety of injuries over the last several seasons, Lindor has still managed to average 158 games played over his last 4 MLB campaigns. In 2024 he battled back issues, and a broken toe. Eventually he would undergo “debridement surgery” to clean up his right elbow after dealing with nagging pain for much of the year.
As a result of the upcoming surgery, as well as a litany of insurance related issues plaguing the Puerto Rican team, Lindor will not be playing in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
New York’s pitchers and catchers officially reported for Grapefruit League action on Wednesday, with the rest of their squad set to arrive by Monday February 16th.
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.