Francisco Lindor’s back issues could derail Mets’ chances for wildcard spot
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has proven to be a candidate for the National League’s Most Valuable Player award this season. Switched to the leadoff position on May 18 after a slow start, he’s been the catalyst of the New York Mets drive for a wildcard spot. However, an injury to his lower back, which forced him to miss Monday’s 2-1 10-inning win against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field, could be the main reason the Mets don’t earn one of three league wildcard positions.
The Mets’ 11th walk-off victory on a single by outfielder Starling Marte tied them for most in Major League Baseball and improved their record to 82-68 before the second game of the three-game series on Tuesday. The Mets were one game in front of the Atlanta Braves, which were 81-69 before facing the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Cardinals, 86-65 and 83-67 respectively when Tuesday’s schedule began, held the top two slots. Yet how much more Lindor will play for the remainder of the regular season, which ends on September 29, is questionable.
MRI results revealed on Monday showed no structural issues. Lindor’s back has been nagging him for well over a week and the discomfort became more intense as he was running the bases last Friday in an 11-3 win versus the Philadelphia Phillies, causing him to sit out his first game of the season on Saturday. He returned on Sunday but left the field in the second inning.
Lindor has been as important to his team as any player has been to theirs. He began this week ranked in the top 10 in the league in at least five major categories: home runs, runs scored, hits, slugging percentage, and doubles.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, his main competition for MVP, is having a tremendous season. His quest for 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases would make him the first player in history to accomplish that feat. However, the Dodgers were virtually certain to make the playoffs this season when this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Mets.
Their first-year manager, Carlos Mendoza, who has done an admirable job of guiding the team and should receive some votes for NL Manager of the Year, changed the trajectory of the Mets when he moved Lindor from third to first in the lineup — a bold move — and Lindor rose to the challenge. Lindor, second on the team to first baseman Pete Alonso (32 homers as of Tuesday) with 27 home runs, led the Mets in at-bats (601), batting average (.271), RBI (86), hits (163), and on-base percentage to open the Nationals series.
Defensively, Lindor has had an equally important impact. He is presently fourth in the league with a .980 fielding percentage and has been a stabilizing force in the Mets’ infield.
It’s often said that health is always a critical part of any team’s fortune. In the midst of a battle to make it back to the postseason after a wildcard appearance in 2022 — a 2-1 series loss to the Padres, the Mets, who have ridden Lindor’s ailing back for the past four months, know it’s just not a baseball cliché.
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