The scene — even if it doesn’t imply an imminent return — was still a promising one for the Mets. It was a style of normalcy in a sinking season.
There was Francisco Lindor, out since April 22 with a strained left calf, on the subject throwing and fielding floor balls while kneeling on the grass after being cleared for baseball actions to mark a promising signal in his harm return.
Lindor can now run, hit in the cages and take floor balls, supervisor Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets opened a three-game sequence against the Reds at Citi Field on Monday.
After the Mets’ replace earlier this month revolved around Lindor needing to let his calf — injured while working the bases — heal more, this one meant that he’d progressed tangibly, even if Mendoza cautioned that it’s still troublesome to put a timetable on his return.
“He’s gotta check a lot of boxes still,” Mendoza said.
But after what has been a brutal stretch of accidents for the Mets across the first two months of the season, they opened a six-game homestand with constructive updates beyond Lindor.
Jared Young, out since April 13 with a left meniscus tear, could return Tuesday. Reliever A.J. Minter, who hasn’t pitched in an MLB sport since April 2025, is expected to be activated this week, too. Jorge Polanco, restricted to just 14 video games while dealing with Achilles and wrist accidents, was set to go through a exercise at Citi Field and could start a rehab task later this week. Kodai Senga (lumbar backbone irritation) was scheduled to throw a bullpen Monday and make a rehab begin Thursday.
And Francisco Alvarez, initially pegged with an eight-week restoration after tearing his proper meniscus, has already begun hitting, resumed catching and even walked up to Mendoza to say, “I feel ready to go” after just two weeks.
“This guy is built differently,” Mendoza said, while acknowledging that Alvarez could beat the preliminary timeline. “… I was like, ‘Pump the brakes a little bit here.’”
Francisco Lindor has been on the IL for a month. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
These returns won’t matter for the Mets until they’re truly in the lineup, until they’re truly making tangible enhancements to enhance a roster at the moment occupying the basement of the NL East.
But for one day, they encountered a slight cause for optimism about their therapeutic roster.
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