Francisco Lindor looked normal on Sunday
Lindor led off and started at shortstop, and looked like himself in his spring debut
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
The Mets defeated the Blue Jays 8-1 in a rain-shortened game in Port St. Lucie (box)
LHP Zach Thornton started for the Mets and he gave the Mets 3.2 quality innings of one-run ball
Francisco Lindor made his Grapefruit League debut and singled and scored in three at-bats
Marcus Semien broke out of his spring funk with a solo home run and three RBI on the afternoon, and both Bo Bichette and Francisco Álvarez provided RBI doubles
Mike Tauchman - who is making a bid to make the team as a backup outfielder - singled twice and drove in two runs, and Luis Robert Jr. singled twice and raised his OPS for the spring to .858
Roster Moves
INF’s Ryan Clifford, Jackson Cluff, Grae Kessinger, Jacob Reimer re-assigned to minor league camp
OF’ers Jihwan Bae, A.J. Ewing, José Ramos re-assigned to minor league camp
Sunday, March 15:
OF Juan Soto (DOM): 0-for-4, K
RHP Huascar Brazoban (DOM): 1.1 IP, 3 K
Schedule | Standings | Scores
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
On the latest episode of the podcast, Rich and Andrew discuss Francisco Lindor’s return on Sunday, and the great number retirement debate.
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Today’s Game 🏝️
Match-up: Mets (11-8) vs. Nationals (11-7)
Where: Clover Park - Port St. Lucie, FL
Starters: LHP David Peterson (1-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. RHP Andre Granillo (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
When: 6:10 EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Francisco Lindor looked like Francisco Lindor on Sunday ✍️
Generally speaking, this has been a very positive camp for the Mets. They’ve played well, they’ve pitched well, their defense has been pretty solid, and those are all things they didn’t do well after June 12 last season. Yes, it’s only Spring Training, but the brand of baseball the Mets have played over the first three-plus weeks of Grapefruit League play has been ultra-encouraging, whether it counts or not.
After all, we have seen plenty of camps when the Mets didn’t play well, everyone in that room played the “there’s nothing to see here” game, and that bad play translated to the regular season. So, I will take this encouraging sign as just that. Encouraging.
The Mets had a great day all around on Sunday, and that’s not because they pitched well and the offense broke out against the Blue Jays in a rain-shortened game in Port St. Lucie.
No, it was because that game came with Francisco Lindor’s long-awaited and somewhat surprising spring debut, during which he started for the club at shortstop and was in the leadoff spot in the lineup. And even that wasn’t the best part of his debut.
He looked clean and smooth at shortstop, which I actually wasn’t surprised by. What I was surprised by was the explosiveness from his bat and the general bat speed he possessed on day one. He was hitting the ball hard all day, and actually parked one about a million miles foul down the right field line before recording a hard-hit single. One of the concerns that comes from hamate bone surgery is the absence of power for a sustained period of time for some patients. That’s not a one-size-fits-all situation for every patient - it happens for some but not all.
So, to see Lindor look a lot like Lindor on day one of Grapefruit League play is super-encouraging and the greatest takeaway from his appearance on Sunday, regardless of the outcome of his at-bats.
“We just let him loose,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after Sunday’s win. “No hesitation. Watching him going through his pregame work the last few days, watching him on the back fields - yeah, I think he looked like Francisco Lindor.”
I’d be curious to see what Lindor looks like from the right side of the plate and if there’s an absence of power against left-handed pitching. His bottom hand from the right side is his left hand, so that would be the next test in competitive situations.
Still, that the Mets moved Jackson Cluff and Grae Kessinger to the minor league side this morning means they have every ounce of confidence Lindor will be ready to roll next Thursday against the Pirates at Citi Field. It would be unfair to expect Lindor to be 100 percent even in ten days, but this is a guy that has managed to perform even with broken bones and other nicks and bruises without a single excuse over the years, so there’s no reason to expect Lindor to not grind through any discomfort or struggles he may experience in the first part of the season.
“There’s going to be moments, yeah, for sure,” Lindor said after Sunday’s game. “That’s something that the trainers have said since Day 1, that I’m going to feel something. There was a bone removed, and there’s a lot of nerves there and soft tissue stuff. So yeah, there’s going to be moments I’m going to feel it.”
That’s part of what makes Lindor a great player and a future Hall of Famer, aside from being one of the best shortstops in the game over the last decade.
Around the League 🚩
Roman Anthony and Gunnar Henderson each hit solo home runs as Team USA edged the Dominican Republic 2-1 to advance to the WBC final
The Giants took a perfect game through 8.2 IP and best the Brewers 7-1
Guardians INF José Ramirez left Sunday’s game with shoulder inflammation