The New York Mets, who are trying to at least split their current four-game series with the Chicago Cubs, might have to do so without their superstar shortstop.
On Wednesday night, Francisco Lindor was forced to exit the game in the third inning due to flu-like symptoms, as manager Carlos Mendoza told SNY team reporter Steve Gelbs.
While it is good news that Lindor left due to an illness and not injury, his health status could be a question mark over the course of the next few days, as well as his availability.
It is very uncommon for Lindor to miss games in his career, as he has missed a total of just three contests across the past two seasons with the Mets. However, in his first season in Queens, the 29-year-old Gold Glover and four-time All-Star was on the shelf for 37 games due to an oblique strain.
This saw the Mets acquire his good friend and fellow native of Puerto Rico Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline to fill in at short until Lindor was ready to return. This deal of course was infamous because acting GM Zack Scott gave up top prospect center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong for 47 games of Baez, who was a rental.
Lindor has endured a rough start to the 2024 regular season, but he has been known to get off to slow starts in the beginning of each campaign throughout his career. In 30 games (118 at-bats), Lindor is slashing just .195/.278/.356 with a .634 OPS, five home runs and 11 RBIs. As a result, the Mets' offense has been inconsistent, as Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil have also struggled at the plate.
On the bright side, Lindor has hit .268/.328/.536 with a .864 OPS, four homers and nine RBIs in his last 15 games.
The Mets are hoping his illness does not linger beyond today, but there has been a virus going around the clubhouse, as Joey Wendle, Lindor's replacement on Wednesday, also dealt with the same sickness over the weekend.
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