Mets' Mendoza remains confident in Lindor's status for opening day following surgery on left hand

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he's optimistic shortstop Francisco Lindor will recover for opening day after having surgery on Wednesday to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand.

Lindor was evaluated by a hand specialist after experiencing soreness in the area around his hand and wrist this week.

“People are saying six weeks for return of play,” Mendoza said, referencing a timeline that could threaten Lindor's status for the start of the season.

“Knowing Lindor, I’m not gonna bet against him. This is a guy that’s played through broken toes and the low back (injury) two years ago when he barely walked and he continued to play through it. So we’re still optimistic that he’s going to be available for us on opening day, but we've just got to wait and see.”

Lindor is the third prominent player to suffer hamate bone injuries in the opening week of spring training, following Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll and Baltimore second baseman Jackson Holliday.

When asked about the sudden rash of hamate injuries, Mendoza said: “It's baseball, you know. I guess it’s back to baseball season. ... This is a pretty common one. It’s just rare that, you know, in the span of, what 24 hours, we got three really good players going down with the same injury. But I don’t make too much out of it.”

Lindor, 32, hit .267 with 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 steals in 160 games with New York last year. The five-time All-Star was left off Puerto Rico’s roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic over insurance coverage.

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