New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor has a broken pinky toe, he disclosed on Thursday prior to the team’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He has been initially designated as day-to-day and plans to play through it, even though he was not in the Mets’ lineup for Thursday’s game. Lindor is hoping that he can avoid a stint on the injured list alltogether.
“Hopefully, I feel good enough to play sooner rather than later,” Lindor said. “We’ll see. We’ll take it day by day. I trust the trainers and how they go about it.”
The 31-year-old star suffered the injury when he was hit in the foot by Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin’s slider in the first inning, but managed to play through what he described as “a lot of pain.”
“I could play, so I played through,” he added, as he went 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 6-1 win.
Lindor’s importance to the Mets cannot be overstated. He was the spark that ignited the team’s turnaround last season from National League doormats to an NLCS run that saw them fall two wins short of a pennant. He finished second in the NL MVP voting behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Perceived as the undeniable clubhouse leader, he has also been remarkably reliable. He missed three games between 2022 and 2023 before missing 10 last year because of a back injury in September.
In 61 games this season, he is batting .279 with an .843 OPS, 14 home runs, and 36 RBI.
Should he miss considerable time, Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio would be the first two options to get looks at shortstop in his absence.
“It’s not fun,” Lindor said. “It’s fun to watch the boys, but I want to participate as well. I’ll be there supporting them, and hopefully I can get back in there soon.”
