Mets Give Rough Timetables on Jorge Polanco, Francisco Lindor

The New York Mets got some good news on the injury front when Juan Soto came off the injured list earlier this week. That might be the only good news they have on the injury front for a minute with regards to two of their top four projected hitters.

"We do know there's the injury there and he's going to be down for quite a bit"

Carlos Mendoza says the Mets have "multiple people" looking at the imaging from Francisco Lindor's calf MRI and it's not similar to a lower severity like Juan Soto's calf strain pic.twitter.com/Ka8I9pQyJV
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2026

The more concerning injury comes to shortstop Francisco Lindor, who landed on the injured list after suffering a calf strain running the bases on Wednesday night. Lindor is going to be in a walking boot for a week and will be shut down from baseball activities until at least mid-May, which could mean a minimum absence of six weeks if a rehab assignment is required.

Francisco Lindor will be in a boot for the next week. The Mets won't reevaluate him until three full weeks pass, so he can't restart baseball activities until mid-May at the earliest. The strain is in "a tricky part" of Lindor's left calf, per Carlos Mendoza.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 24, 2026

Things aren't looking much better for infielder Jorge Polanco, who is on the injured list due to right wrist soreness. Polanco, who is also dealing with Achilles tendinitis, was deemed "week to week" in his recovery process by David Stearns on Saturday.

David Stearns says that Jorge Polanco is "week-to-week" as he recovers from his injuries pic.twitter.com/QQ3m9OcxXY
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 24, 2026

In other words, it doesn't look like the calvary is coming anytime soon for the Mets' starting lineup. Getting Soto back will help, and the Mets will continue to use the DH slot to protect him from aggravating his calf injury, but the players in house will need to climb out of the hole the team's 12-game losing streak created.

How The Mets Will Fill In For Francisco Lindor And Jorge Polanco

The shortstop hole will primarily be occupied by Ronny Mauricio, who was on a heater at Triple-A Syracuse before his recall when Lindor landed on the IL. There have been some questionable defensive plays from Mauricio early on, but his bat will afford him extended runway for now.

The other option at shortstop is Bo Bichette, who played there until last season before moving to third with the Mets. Carlos Mendoza hinted Bichette could get starts at short if the Mets want to sit Mauricio against tough lefties, which would allow Brett Baty to start at his natural position of third base.

Baty also figures to remain part of the equation to fill in at first base for Polanco, who hadn't played the field since the first week of the season due to his Achilles issues. The Mets have also used Mark Vientos at first base while MJ Melendez started taking grounders at the position in Chicago last week.

Melendez is a bat-first option who could get some run at DH on days Soto isn't occupying that lineup spot. There are plenty of depth options to backfill the Mets' immediate areas of need, but they will need to step up to help them survive until their injured stars can get back on the field.

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