The news that New York Mets fans have been waiting to hear has arrived.
Star shortstop Francsico Lindor will rejoin the team today for the second game of their doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs, as manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters. Lindor worked quickly through a rehab assignment after missing two months with a calf strain, playing three minor league games in the last five days.
Lindor's return comes at a crucial time for the Mets. Not only are they continuing to fall behind in the standings, but the last-place club just saw their best player in Juan Soto leave Tuesday's game with back tightness.
While Soto is considered day-to-day, his absence earlier in the season proved that the Mets cannot survive without him, as they went a shocking 3-12 in the 15 games he missed with a calf strain. When Soto returned, it was Lindor who went down, suffering his own calf injury in the very same game.
Injuries have plagued the Mets all year, but none have been more significant than the losses of Lindor and Soto. The All-Star duo has only appeared in the same lineup together 12 times this season. With Lindor back in the mix, the hope will be for Soto to heal up quick so New York can rally around the stability of their two superstars.
The Mets will likely ease their veteran shortstop back into the intensity of MLB games, as he has now missed over 50 games. President of baseball operations David Stearns spoke about the plan on Tuesday, admitting that there is a "sense of urgency" around the team but stressing the importance of not putting everything on Lindor to lift them up after his long IL stint.
Stearns did add that Lindor will return to playing shortstop "more days than not" when he is activated, a position that was manned primarily by Bo Bichette after Ronny Mauricio went down. Lindor, who hadn't missed more than 10 games in a season over the last four years, will certainly push to be in the lineup every day now that he is back.
It's a tough hill to climb for the Mets who currently sit 7.0 games back of the third NL Wild Card spot and have plenty of issues to address throughout the roster. But getting their veteran leader back could be as good a spark as any to get a run jumpstarted.
