Francisco Lindor appeared to just be finding his stride in his debut season with the Mets before one swing put him on the sidelines for what will likely be an extended period of time.
Lindor, who suffered an oblique strain after taking a swing in a game against the Pirates on July 16, had been batting .353 with two home runs and a 1.018 OPS in his last 11 games before the injury, which typically takes months to recover from. But acting general manager Zack Scott said he is encouraged by the star shortstop's initial rebound, and could see his return being on the shorter side of that timeline.
"The obliques can be tricky," Scott said on the latest episode of Audacy's Big Time Baseball podcast. "Probably standard timelines on those are 4-6 weeks. He's already doing better at this point than other guys we've had who have had similar injuries, for whatever that's worth. It's a longer road, so that doesn't necessarily tell is a lot, but it's better than the opposite."
Still, the Mets will be without Lindor for weeks, but Scott feels the team has enough internal pieces at their disposal to make up for Lindor's absence until he is ready to return.
"I think we do have some guys that are capable," Scott said. "Our goal was to build as much depth in the organization as much as we could…but I think between guys like Villar and Guillorme and Peraza, we can piece together a short-term solution."
Still, with the trade deadline approaching and New York holding just a 2.5 game lead in the NL East, the Mets could decide to upgrade the infield with Lindor sidelined. But Scott and the front office will likely only look at options that can continue to be regular contributors after Lindor makes it back to the lineup.
"It doesn't mean we wouldn't explore other possibilities, but I'd say the kind of player we'd be looking at has some versatility," Scott said. "Francisco is going to come back and be our shortstop, so that player would have to be able to play other positions as well. And with J.D. Davis back at third, that helps us free up some guys to kind of move around the diamond."
Lindor's absence will be felt in the lineup and in the dugout, as even through his prolonged slump in his debut season with the Mets, he has been reliable defensively and as a vocal leader with his new team.
"Francisco has definitely been a leader, and getting off to a start that he didn't want to have to getting better each month," Scott said. "But while he was struggling to maintain consistency every day coming to the ballpark, to not get too down…to just be consistent and supportive of his teammates all the time, he's shown incredible leadership."
Listen to Scott's full interview on Big Time Baseball below!
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
