Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor will undergo an MRI on his back after he exited Sunday's loss at the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning with back discomfort.
"We're gonna do some images and see if there's anything concerning in there," Lindor said after the game. "If not, then we continue to try and get better. The goal is to be available as many times as I can in these last [13] games that we have left. And that's pretty much it."
He added: "We're gonna evaluate it tomorrow and see where to go."
Manager Carlos Mendoza said he is concerned that Lindor had to leave the game, but that it is still "early to sit here and say 'I'm really worried.' Just gotta see how he feels tomorrow, the next day, so it's too early to tell."
Lindor was deemed healthy enough to be in the lineup after leaving Friday's game and missing Saturday's, but his afternoon ended after experiencing discomfort in his first at-bat.
The MVP candidate notched a leadoff single in the top of the first but appeared to run very slowly out of the box and simply didn’t look like himself.
"I just felt like my back got a little weak as I took a couple steps towards first base," Lindor said. "Just didn't feel comfortable to continue to push it."
At first, Lindor told the Mets' first base coach to Antoan Richardson to let the bench know to get a defensive replacement ready because "this is not letting go right now."
Lindor said that the swing wasn't necessarily what caused the injury to flare up and "felt fine" after fouling off a pitch earlier in the at-bat.
"I actually took a swing and I fouled one off and it felt good, that gave me extra confidence, I swung and fouled the ball off and I re-gathered myself and I felt like I was in a good spot and when I hit the ball, and I took a couple steps out of the box I didn't feel how I wanted to feel," he said.
Francisco Lindor appeared to run gingerly to first base on his leadoff hit pic.twitter.com/0rDtWPbtAu
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 15, 2024
Linodor said that he "felt good" before the start of the game, adding, "I ran in the outfield, I ran the bases, took swings in the cage, I pretended I was catching ground balls and stuff and I felt confident enough to go out there and play.
"We checked off all of the boxes the training staff did an outstanding job, they've been trying to get me ready. And I felt confident enough that I was gonna have a good day."
He managed to play defense in the bottom of the frame but was pulled for the home half of the second inning with Luisangel Acuna replacing him. The rookie went hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout.
The shortstop admitted that he "got a little timid" when fielding a chance in the bottom half of the first, but felt fine.
"I felt fine to bend over, even though it wasn't too low, but felt comfortable enough to make the play and just it wasn't in a good spot," he said.
For Lindor, who had hardly taken a day off all season, missing time during the stretch run with the back issue is "extremely difficult."
"As somebody who wants to post-up and be available as many times as I can, it is difficult to come out of the game, it is difficult to not be there for my teammates, not be there for the coaches and play the game that I love. It doesn't feel good," he said. "Hopefully tonight I get some good rest and get some images tomorrow and hopefully it's nothing too concerning, it's just some inflammation and try to go from there."
Mendoza said the easy option is to sit Lindor for the three-game series against Washington starting on Monday, but he will wait to see how the shortstop feels.
Depending on what the images say, Lindor said this could be a case where he takes a day or two off, but there is the possibility he could need longer time out.
If the shortstop is forced to sit for longer, Lindor is confident the Mets can make the playoffs without him in the lineup.
"Of course, of course," he said when asked about the postseason chances. "They have the personnel, they have great players, Acuna can play the game and it's something that [David] Stearns, Mendy, the rest of the front office have done an outstanding job preparing us and getting good guys around us.
"I believe in this team."
