Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor day-to-day with broken toe

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Jun 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — The Mets can never seem to escape the Los Angeles Dodgers with a full, healthy team.

Francisco Lindor was out of the lineup Thursday for the series finale with a broken toe. The star shortstop and leadoff hitter was hit by a slider from right-hander Tony Gonsolin in the first inning of Wednesday night’s 6-1 win, with the pitch breaking his right pinky toe. He played the rest of the game and insisted to manager Carlos Mendoza that he would be fine to play Thursday, but the skipper decided to sit him after X-rays showed a fracture.

“It’s not a surgical thing,” Lindor said Thursday morning at Dodger Stadium. “It’s just a matter of tolerating the pain.”

A key leader in the lineup, on the field and in the clubhouse, Lindor was in considerable pain Wednesday night, but woke up Thursday morning with less. However, once he put on a shoe, it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to play.

He’s considered day-to-day, and while Lindor himself didn’t rule out an injured list stint, Mendoza said he didn’t think that would be necessary.

“The [trainers] were telling me that if he would have got the joint, then it would be something more serious,” Mendoza said. “But this is something that he’s going to have to deal with. We’re giving him today [off], but knowing him, he’s going to continue to fight.”

The Mets haven’t ruled out the possibility of using him off the bench against the Dodgers, but it’s unlikely.

Lindor doesn’t like taking days off. He declined paternity leave when his youngest two kids were born, he played through a fractured finger on his throwing hand in 2022 and he begged the Mets to let him play through back pain last September when the Mets were in the thick of a heated race for a playoff spot.

“This is going to be a conversation after every day,” Mendoza said. “Even last night, going back to the hotel on the bus, he was fighting. He wanted to be in the lineup. I was like, ‘You’re not going to be in the lineup tomorrow,’ he said, ‘Give me until tomorrow morning.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m going give it until tomorrow morning, but the answer is going to be the same.’ That’s what makes him who he is.”

The injury should heal in about six weeks, and Lindor will play through as much as he can. However, Lindor doesn’t want to leave the team shorthanded. The Mets have won the last 27 games in which he’s homered, he’s tied for the team lead with 14 and he’s tied for the team lead with 11 stolen bases. Lindor is the engine that makes the Mets’ lineup go, and he’s the field general of sorts, helping young infielders with positioning.

“It’s not fun for me,” Lindor said of watching from the bench. “It’s fun to watch the boys, but I want to participate as well. So I’ll be there supporting them, and hopefully I can get back in there soon.”

Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña will play shortstop if his absence is prolonged, with Acuña getting the start against the Dodgers.

Acuña has been used mostly off the bench in recent weeks, hitting just .130 over his last 15 games, but more consistent playing time could help him get going again. Mauricio is still looking for his first big league hit since 2023.

A top prospect in the organization, Mauricio, now 24, was called up Tuesday to take the place of Mark Vientos on the roster after the third baseman strained a hamstring running out of the box the night prior.

The Mets sometimes like to give players dealing with injury a DH day as a way to give them a half of a workday, but Lindor doesn’t see much of a difference.

“If I’m good enough to hit and run, I should be good enough to play shortstop,” Lindor said. “But at the end of the day, like I said, I trust the trainers and then whatever they think it’s going to be best, we’ll go with that.”