Mets' Francisco Lindor Gets Positive Injury Update

All signs continue to point to an Opening Day return for New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.

The 32-year-old, who underwent surgery on February 11th to repair a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, has seen no setbacks in his rehab process and continues to inch closer to full participation. Lindor had his stitches removed last Tuesday and started to ramp up his baseball activities throughout the week.

Over the weekend, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that his star player is "progressing accordingly," but was unable to give a clear timeline for his return.

“I think we're still too early, it's hard to tell right now, especially knowing Lindor,” Mendoza said on Sunday. “This is a guy that I wouldn't be surprised if he comes in a week before we have to break and he says, ‘Hey, I'm ready to go."

Up until this point, according to Mendoza, Lindor has been taking one-handed swings, throwing long toss, throwing to the bases, and keeping his conditioning up. But the Mets' skipper was optimistic that "in the next few days, he can start just grabbing a bat and start his progression hitting-wise, then fielding as well."

Carlos Mendoza Gives Update on Francisco Lindor's Progress

Lindor in a game. — Sep 14, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts to getting a double play during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

While addressing the media on Tuesday morning, Mendoza confirmed that Lindor is now starting to take these next steps of playing catch, doing fielding drills, and swinging the bat.

"He played catch yesterday and he was able to catch the baseball," Mendoza said. "He's going to go through some light defensive drills. So now incorporating more baseball activity. Hopefully he starts swinging a bat... if it's not today, I'm pretty sure tomorrow he'll start that."

Francisco Lindor played catch yesterday and will go through live defensive drills today

He will "hopefully" begin swinging a bat by tomorrow pic.twitter.com/3GUGFgd5dW
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 3, 2026

The Mets have not given a strict timeline throughout Lindor's recovery, but it appears the veteran infielder is pushing himself through all the necessary steps to get back on the field. The expectation from the very start was that he would return for Opening Day, but it is a more of a credit to the belief in Lindor's toughness and durability than a true projection of full health.

For comparison, Baltimore second baseman Jackson Holliday underwent the same procedure just a day earlier and has already been ruled out for Opening Day. While a general timeline for hamate surgery is 4-8 weeks, it can often take months to fully regain power in the swing. For Holliday and the Orioles, it makes more sense to let their young player progress on a loose timeline. But for the Mets, their integral infield cog is doing everything he can to be on the field on March 26th.

Lindor has been one of the league's most reliable stars, making at least 150 starts in each of the last four seasons. After suffering a broken toe, Lindor missed just one game on June 5th before returning on June 7th to deliver a crucial two-run double as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. He played through the injury for the rest of the season, playing in 160 of 162 games.

Francisco Lindor sat out Thursday with a broken right pinky toe.

He pinch-hits in the ninth inning of a tie game tonight and rips a go-ahead double to right. pic.twitter.com/g2RKRqvHd6
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 7, 2025

That is to say, pain shouldn't be a big determining factor in whether Lindor is ready to go for Opening Day. The most important thing will be monitoring how quickly he is able to progress through the necessary rehab stages which, as of today, continues to go well.

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