New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor will miss Thursday night's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers after he slammed his finger in a hotel door. Luis Guillorme has replaced Lindor in the Mets' lineup at shortstop.
Manager Buck Showalter made the announcement on Thursday evening. Via SNY, he said:
"Lindor shut a door on his finger. Right hand. We were seeing if he might be able to play, but [he's] probably going to need a day. We were actually looking to see if he was going to be able to DH, but we're probably going to wait a day. I'm not going to broadcast what he's available to do tonight, but that happened last night when we got to the room."
Here's Lindor himself explaining what happened to his right middle finger:
Finger injuries can of course be tricky things for hitters, but according to SNY you shouldn't close the door on Lindor's being back in the Mets' lineup as early as Friday. Here's hoping that's the case, as we don't want to see this clash of National League titans diminished by the absence of any main characters on either side.
As for Lindor, he's enjoyed a quality 2022 season thus far. He's played in every Mets game thus far -- not including Thursday's, of course -- and he's put up a slash line of .261/.345/.442 (126 OPS+) with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. Those aren't eye-popping numbers, but they're strong for a plus defensive shortstop in a season that thus far has seen run-scoring levels heavily suppressed. In other words, Lindor will be missed for as along as he's out.
