NEW YORK -- Following a successful final rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse, Francisco Lindor was activated from the 10-day injured list for the second game of the Mets' doubleheader against the Cubs on Wednesday. He was in the lineup playing shortstop and batting second behind leadoff hitter Carson Benge.
Ronny Mauricio was activated from the 10-day IL and optioned to Triple-A and infielder Zack Short was designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
Lindor went 2-for-5 in a rehab game in Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, playing eight innings at shortstop. Mets officials met late Tuesday to discuss next steps for Lindor, who has been sidelined since April 22 with a strained left calf.
"Everything checked out well after the game last night, but he got in late, so we told him to kind of recover this morning," manager Carlos Mendoza said before Game 1 of the split doubleheader. "Waiting for him to report here ... but we anticipate him being in the lineup [tonight]."
Given that Lindor never appeared in Minor League rehab games on back-to-back days, the Mets preferred to play him in only one half of the doubleheader.
"There's going to be some off-days here," Mendoza said. "If he plays tonight, he'll probably be down tomorrow, going to be honest right away. And then [if] there's another back to back ... we'll see where we are. But there's definitely going to be some days off here in the early going as we continue to build him up."
The team will be glad to welcome back its starting shortstop and one of its most important players, although their other superstar, Juan Soto, was held out of the lineup for both games of the twin bill with left side back tightness and is considered day to day. A five-time All-Star who finished second to Shohei Ohtani in National League MVP voting in 2024, Lindor averaged 30 homers, 27 stolen bases and 6.0 wins above replacement from 2022-25. Though he was scuffling prior to his IL stint, with two home runs, two steals and a .669 OPS in 24 games, he has been one of the league’s top players for more than a decade.
As such, he represents the Mets’ best chance to turn things around in what has been a trying season.
“We’ve got to start playing better baseball, win more games consistently. Francisco is a big part of that,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “We think he can help us. … We’ve got a sense of urgency throughout our team right now. We also can’t put everything on Francisco to come back at a time when he hasn’t played baseball very much, and expect us to put him on his back.”
Lindor will return to his regular job as starting shortstop, with Bo Bichette sliding back to third base and Brett Baty moving into a super-utility role. Lindor went 3-for-13 (.231) with a stolen base and just one strikeout on a three-game rehab assignment. He also received both at-bats and defensive reps in simulated games at Citi Field.
MLB.com's Matthew Ritchie contributed to this report.