Mets' Francisco Lindor Headed To IL With Oblique Strain

The second half of the regular season has already gotten off to a nightmarish start for the Mets.

Star shortstop Francisco Lindor's MRI revealed a Grade 2 right oblique strain, and as a result, the team placed him on the 10-day Injured List on Saturday.

While Lindor is trying to stay positive in the wake of this diagnosis, his injury is more than mild and has left him with an unknown timeline to return.

"This is the first time that something like this happened in my career," said Lindor prior to the Mets' matchup with the Pirates on Saturday night. "I don't have any time table. I wish I could say I'm day-to-day, but I'm not. It's more like week-to-week."

Francisco Lindor says he's "week-to-week" in his recovery from his strained oblique:

"I'd love to say I'm day-to-day, but I'm not" pic.twitter.com/ia7fUnfE5S
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 17, 2021

Infielder Travis Blankenhorn was recalled from Triple-A to take Lindor's spot on the roster.

Lindor exited Friday night's contest with the Pirates in the top of the fifth inning after grabbing his side following a groundout. According to Lindor, he initially felt it on the pitch before when he fouled one off.

The 27-year-old's first season as a Met began with an underwhelming first half, where he slashed .227/.326/.376 to go along with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. And although he was starting to show signs of getting back to normal at the plate, Lindor's injury is a major setback both personally, and for the Mets' struggling offense as well.

While oblique injuries typically require a 4-6 week recovery period, Lindor is leaving it in "God's hands" and is confident he will be back this season.

"I'm not dead, I'm here," Lindor said. "I will be back soon."

Francisco Lindor is feeling good about his chances of playing again this season:

"Very confident. I'm not dead." pic.twitter.com/AI82xUtqok
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 17, 2021

"We have gone through a lot of things," he added. "This is just another step in the journey. I'll do whatever it takes to come back and help the team."

Manager Luis Rojas also expressed his optimism in Lindor's timeline, as well.

"Francisco is a guy who is in very good shape and he is going to tackle this rehab and we will have him back soon," said Rojas.

"They are all tough when you get a player that lands on the IL...But the group just never gets down, they aren't down right now. These things happen in a baseball season," he said.

"They're all tough, but we've just got to stay together and be strong like we are as a family"

Luis Rojas discusses how the Mets plan to overcome the difficulty of losing Francisco Lindor to injury: pic.twitter.com/TnsyY6HM7A
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 17, 2021

As Rojas went on to note, Jonathan Villar, Luis Guillorme and Jose Peraza are all candidates to see time at shortstop in Lindor's absence.

The Mets have certainly dealt with a substantial amount of adversity this year. Now, with Lindor out indefinitely, it sets up an additional major obstacle to overcome.