Mets Lose Francisco Lindor to Injury After Getting Juan Soto Back From IL

The New York Mets may have gotten Juan Soto back from the IL on Wednesday, but now Francisco Lindor exited tonight's game.

Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Chicago Cubs during the eight inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

When it rains it pours.

On the same day the New York Mets got left fielder Juan Soto back from a right calf strain, shortstop Francisco Lindor exited Wednesday night's game with left calf tightness.

And keep in mind, the Mets initially called Soto's injury right calf tightness the night he was removed from action in San Francisco on April 3. Soto went on to miss 15 games on the IL.

Lindor was not running the bases at full speed after a Francisco Alvarez double in the bottom of the fourth inning. Although he would score, Lindor was removed from the game in the top of the fifth. Bo Bichette moved to shortstop and Brett Baty shifted to third base.

Francisco Lindor has been pulled from tonight's game after grimacing rounding third on Francisco Alvarez's RBI double pic.twitter.com/wi7PGalANx

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2026

Lindor is known as a gamer and it takes a lot for him to come out of a game. The 32-year-old has played in at least 152 games in four straight seasons. He has appeared in at least 160 games in three of the last four seasons.

Lindor was beginning to come around at the plate after a rough start to the campaign. In the last seven games, he was hitting .360/.385/.640 with a 1.025 OPS, two home runs and five RBI. On the season, Lindor is slashing .226/.314/.355 with a .669 OPS.

The Mets will now hope that Lindor won't have to miss extended time. But calves can be tricky injuries depending on the severity.

New York got their best player back from the IL today in Soto, but have now lost their second-best player in Lindor to injury.

President of baseball operations David Stearns let first baseman Pete Alonso walk in free agency to the Baltimore Orioles and traded left fielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for second baseman Marcus Semien in the offseason. As a result, the Mets' offense was built to be centered around Lindor, Soto and the newcomer Bichette.

The Mets went 3-12 in Soto's absence. If Lindor is forced to miss time with a calf injury, the Mets will be in a similar boat as to when they were without Soto for the past two weeks.

The Mets are 7-16 on the season (worst record in MLB) and have lost 12 straight games for the first time since 2002.

No team in baseball history has ever lost 12 straight in a season and made the postseason.

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