David Stearns held a press conference in Port St. Lucie as the Mets begin reporting for spring training, and he had multiple notable updates for the 2026 season.
The team’s president of baseball operations revealed to reporters that Francisco Lindor will be evaluated on Wednesday for a “stress reaction” in the hamate bone of his left hand. If the evaluation ends in a recommendation of surgery, the Mets star shortstop would be sidelined for roughly six weeks, though that would still leave the door open for Lindor to be ready for New York’s season opener.
“Experienced some soreness in his left hand/wrist area over the past couple days and informed our medical staff, so he’s going to go to a hand specialist tomorrow,” Stearns said. “It’s possible this will result in a hamate surgery...which would put us right at Opening Day. At this point, even if it does require surgery, we would remain optimistic that Francisco would be back for Opening Day.”
Lindor was an All-Star for the first time in his Mets tenure last year, leading the league in plate appearances while posting a 30/30 campaign. Entering his age-32 season, Lindor has not missed more than 10 games in a season since 2021.
Stearns also revealed that Juan Soto will shift to left field in 2026, the position he will play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Soto saw no time in left in 2025, and appeared in just six games at the position for the Yankees in 2024. For his career, he has made 458 starts in left field.
“Over the last month or so, as Mendy and Juan were talking about the season...he felt really comfortable there,” Stearns said. “It made sense for us from a roster perspective. So, we’re gonna go forward with it, and everyone is on board with it.”
Stearns mentioned Brett Baty, Carson Benge, and Tyrone Taylor as notable options for right field.