Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced on Wednesday that, after seeing a hand specialist, Francisco Lindor will undergo surgery for a stress reaction in his left hamate bone.
Mendoza reiterated what president of baseball operations David Stearns said on Tuesday, that Lindor is likely to be out for about six weeks, but they're optimistic he would still be on track to play on Opening Day.
"It varies. People are saying six weeks for return to play. Knowing Lindor, I’m not going to bet against him," Mendoza said of Lindor's recovery timeline. "This is a guy who has played through broken toes and the low back two years ago when he could barely walk and was able to play through it.
"We’re still optimistic that he’s going to be available for us on Opening Day, but we’ve just got to wait and see."
Fans may recall that catcher Francisco Alvarez had the same surgery on his left hamate bone last season. Alvarez had his surgery on March 10 and returned to the lineup on April 25, missing 45 days.
Per Stearns, Lindor reported soreness in his left hand/wrist area over the last couple of day, and the shortstop has had soreness in the hamate area on and off for “a couple of years.”
“He’s usually able to grind through it, and he’s done it," Stearns said Tuesday. "I don’t know when he first felt it, but I think it just persisted to the point where he felt like he should say something about it. Once we examined it a little bit more yesterday, our medical staff determined that he should see a specialist."
This isn't the first bit of injury news for Lindor this offseason. Following the 2025 season, Lindor had a procedure on his right (throwing) elbow that was described as a "minor cleanup." As a result, Lindor is not competing with team Puerto Rico in this year's World Baseball Classic.
Lindor is coming off his first All-Star season as a Met, as he slashed .267/.346/.466 with 31 home runs, 86 RBI and 117 runs scored.
When pressed on other internal options at shortstop if Lindor isn't back by March 26, Stearns said the club has a number of players with shortstop experience in camp, including Ronny Mauricio and Vidal Brujan.
However, it sounds as if the club wants to keep the recently acquired Bo Bichette at third base, rather than move him around the infield.