New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor continues to strengthen his left hand after undergoing surgery on the left hamate bone last month and is still “progressing accordingly,” manager Carlos Mendoza said on Sunday.
The 32-year-old is doing “a lot of one-handed swings,” and continues to throw without issue.
“Hopefully in the next few days, he can start grabbing a bat and start his progression hitting-wise and then the fielding as well,” Mendoza continued. “The throwing has been there. He’s continuing to do long toss, throw the bases. The conditioning is there.”
The Mets put an initial six-week timetable for Lindor’s return on the day of his procedure, which would have put him right around Opening Day on March 26 at Citi Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates. When asked if there is a cut-off date that would indicate he would not be ready for the season had he not begun taking live at-bats, Mendoza said it was still “too early” to tell.
“It’s hard to tell right now, especially knowing Lindor,” he said. “This is a guy that I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes in a week before we have to break and says, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’ So I’m pretty sure we’ll put him on the backfields and even though he’s not going to be swinging, at least tracking pitches is going to be important. So we’ve just got to wait and see.”
Baty begins utility undertaking
Brett Baty, the natural third baseman who was once deemed the future of the Mets at the hot corner, made his spring training debut on Saturday as a first baseman.
It was the first step in getting Baty into a more super-utility role — once occupied by Jeff McNeil before he was traded to the Athletics during the offseason — after the Mets signed Bo Bichette on a three-year, $126 million deal and shifted him from shortstop to third base.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has made it clear that Baty will get an opportunity to aggregate at-bats while serving as a backup first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and right fielder.
His first test on Saturday was passable with no mistakes.
“It was a fun challenge out there,” Baty said. “No mistakes, but it didn’t look pretty either. We’ll get better over there for sure.”
The Mets are hoping that Baty’s offensive game will continue to bloom after posting career-bests in batting average (.254) and home runs (18) last season. He is reliable at second and third, and has some corner-outfield experience in the minors, albeit in left field.
“He’s very athletic,” Mendoza said of Baty. “I have no doubt in my mind that he’s able to do it. He was able to play second base for us last year, and that wasn’t an easy transition. Early on, what we’ll do is keep him on the right side of the field, whether it’s first base, right field, maybe second base.”
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