PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Mets are hopeful that Francisco Lindor will take the next step this week in his return from surgery on his left hand, but regardless of when the shortstop is able to start hitting again, manager Carlos Mendoza is confident that he will be ready for Opening Day.
“I think we're still too early; it's hard to tell right now, especially knowing Lindor,” Mendoza said on Sunday when asked if there is a date when he would become concerned about Lindor’s availability to start the season. “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.’”
Lindor underwent surgery to repair a stress reaction in his left hamate bone on Feb. 11. He took part in light baseball activities this week after having the stitches removed on Tuesday but hasn’t started to take full swings or catch a ball.
“He’s doing a lot of one-hand swings. Hopefully in the next few days, he can start just grabbing a bat and start his progression hitting-wise, then fielding as well,” Mendoza said. “The throwing has been there. He’ll continue to do long toss, throw to the bases. The conditioning is there, so he's progressing accordingly.”
Although there is no precise date for Lindor to continue that progression, Mendoza said he will likely begin doing some more work on the back fields soon.
“Even though he's not going to be swinging, at least tracking pitches is going to be important,” Mendoza said. “We’ve just got to wait and see.”