QUEENS, NY — New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor continues to progress in the right direction, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, and will incrementally ramp up his baseball activities in hopes of getting back in the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves.
“Lindor is doing better,” Mendoza said on Sunday before his team’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies. “He’s going to go out and do more baseball activities with intensity. Yesterday he took BP from left side, right side. He’ll do that today, play catch, take gorunders, and run again.”
The 30-year-old MVP candidate suffered a lower-back injury during their 11-3 victory on Sept. 13 in Philadelphia against the Phillies and after sitting out the following game, attempted to play in the series finale on Sept. 15. He was pulled following the first inning, however, and has not appeared in a game since then.
Lindor and the Mets have continued to designate a “day-to-day” timetable for a potential return, which will extend to more than a week by the time he is expected to suit up on Tuesday.
In his absence, top prospect Luisangel Acuna has stepped up brilliantly at shortstop, entering Sunday night batting .385 with three home runs and six RBI in eight games. Getting Lindor back for the final week of the regular season, though, provides an immeasurable boost for a team that is already flying high.
The Mets entered Sunday night having won five of their last six games to open a two-game advantage over the Braves, which makes their three-game set in Atlanta all the more crucial.
As a fixture of the top of the lineup this season, Lindor was batting .271 with an .836 OPS, 31 home runs, 86 RBI, and 27 stolen bases in 148 games.
