Jorge CastilloFeb 11, 2026, 12:59 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor will have surgery Wednesday for a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The hand surgery would require a six-week recovery. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns on Tuesday said he was "optimistic" that Lindor would be ready for Opening Day on March 26.
Lindor, 32, has played through soreness "for a couple of years," Stearns said, but the discomfort resurfaced in recent days after he reported to camp and they decided to see a specialist.
Vidal Brujan, Ronny Mauricio, Christian Arroyo and Jackson Cluff are options to play shortstop in spring training games while Lindor is out.
Arroyo and Cluff are nonroster invites to spring training. Mauricio has started two games at shortstop in his two-year big league career. Arroyo has started 19 games at shortstop in his seven-year major league career.
Another possibility could be Bo Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract with the Mets this offseason with the intention of transitioning from shortstop to third base.
"If we get to the point where we get closer to Opening Day and there are questions about Francisco, then we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Stearns said Tuesday. "But, at this point, we're optimistic that regardless of what Francisco needs, he's going to be ready for Opening Day."
Lindor, who has six years and $194.9 million remaining on his contract, is coming off a season in which he hit .267 with 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases -- one of seven MLB players to post a 30-30 season in 2025. He also drove in 86 runs.
Lindor has not been on the injured list since 2021 and has played in at least 152 games in each of the past four seasons. He missed several games over the final two weeks of the 2024 regular season but avoided the IL and returned to lead the Mets to the National League Championship Series. Last season, Lindor played through a broken right pinkie toe he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in June.
