Biggest mistake of the NY Mets season might've been made over 2 months ago

Francisco Lindor sat out game 63 of the season for the New York Mets only to return a day later with a big two-run double against the Colorado Rockies as a pinch hitter in the ninth. As close to an everyday player as you’ll find around the league, Lindor’s absence on June 5 was due to a broken pinky toe, which he decided to play through with promising results to start off. He had 3 hits on June 7. It looked like pain was something he could tolerate after all.

Following the brief success, Lindor went into a little bit of a tailspin. Hitless in the series against the Atlanta Braves down in Georgia where the Mets dropped all 3 games, it was the start of a stretch when the team struggled, their All-Star shortstop disappeared, and a lengthy slump began.

The numbers Francisco Lindor has put up since breaking his pinky toe are terrifyingly bad

Since June 6, Lindor is batting .205/.265/.356 with 7 home runs. It’s a line of demarcation on his year. It’s a 238 plate appearance sample size from the summer months when hitters tend to take off. Not Lindor.

There have been successful stretches. His four RBI game against the San Francisco Giants earlier this month stands out as one of the better recent performances. Unfortunately, some big outs with runners in scoring position have followed as have some poor defensive performances.

Lindor slowed down on the base stealing in June. A pair of swiped bags on June 7 were his only of the month. He stole 4 in July and has yet to steal one in August. Fewer times on base and less opportunities to hit out of the leadoff spot are a part of the explanation.

Saturday was the breaking point for most fans. Three strikeouts in an 0 for 5 effort plus a crucial error had us all scratching our heads as to who this poser over at shortstop wearing a Lindor jersey must be. It’s not the guy we know.

If the pinky toe is to blame, the Mets missed their best opportunity to give Lindor some time off without missing him too much. Off-days on August 7, 11, and 18 would have made a 10-day IL stint more favorable. It’s not always up to the team, though. Lindor’s insistence on playing, while admirable, is beginning to feel more like a negative than a leader toughening it out.

An IL stint would come as a shocker considering Lindor has gone more than 2 months without one and hasn’t indicated further that the broken toe is to blame. It could all be a big coincidence and yet every aspect of his game has been down. He could conceivably land on the IL now and still have two days where the Mets are off, causing him to only miss 8.

Most importantly, the team is 24-30 since the broken toe. They went into August an even 23-23. Like a ghoul from a horror movie, it seems to have caught up with them.