Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor injures finger on hotel door, misses Dodgers opener
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor looks on from the dugout against the Nationals during an MLB game at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LOS ANGELES —Francisco Lindor shut his right middle finger in a door in his hotel room Wednesday night, triggering his absence from the Mets’ lineup — for the first time this year — on Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His swollen and bruised digit impacted his grip on baseballs and, to a lesser degree, his grip on a bat, Lindor said. He hopes to be back Friday.
“After I finished my massage, I went into my room,” he explained. “I have double doors. I went to close one and I didn’t think the other one was going to close. They closed at the same time. Next thing you know, I got a swollen finger.
“I ran around the room for three minutes. I didn’t even want to look at it. I finally looked and was like, OK. I felt like I had a heart in my finger.”
Mets owner Steve Cohen couldn’t resist but chime in on Twitter.
“Lin-door just got hurt by a door,” he wrote. “Ironic.”
Manager Buck Showalter said: “I was looking for a day to give him. So maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. He’s disappointed, obviously . . . I’m surprised something like this hasn’t happened before. It kind of accentuates how fortunate he’s been, playing shortstop day in and day out. A door got him.”
Lindor has been one of the Mets’ hottest hitters lately, driving in a run in 10 consecutive games (with 20 RBIs total over that stretch). In his past 18 games, he has a .324/.402/.544 slash line.
“It’s frustrating to not be out there with the boys,” he said. “That’s frustrating. It wasn’t a goal of mine to play 162.”
Asked if any teammates razzed him for such a quirky injury, Lindor said “no” six times.
“I’m not too happy (about being hurt),” he said.
DeGrom change
A change in the plans for Jacob deGrom: He will not travel with the team during this west-coast swing, Showalter said. Instead, he’ll stay in New York to continue rehabbing the stress reaction in his right shoulder blade.
That is the opposite of what the plan had been as of Wednesday, when Showalter shared that the injured ace would join the Mets in a day or two after tending to a family matter.
The switch was because the team’s own facilities are “better equipped to handle what his needs are,” Showalter said. Cohen sighting?
Cohen also tweeted that he will be watching the Mets in person this series.
“I’m headed out to LA to watch our team play this weekend,” He wrote. “It should be an exciting series. LGM.”
Back again
This is the Mets’ second trip to California in a row, with not quite a week in New York in between.
Can changing time zones that frequently have a notable effect on players’ body clocks?
Yes, Showalter said.
“It’d be a convenient excuse if you want to use it. We’re not going to,” he said. “It’s part of playing in the big leagues. Some people come out here twice. Some people come out here three times. What are you going to say? Say, ‘We quit’? It takes a lot of discipline. You gotta get your sleep. I’m sure they (the Dodgers) do it coming out east and going back and forth. It’s part of playing in the big leagues. There’s an excuse around every corner if you want to find them.”
Extra bases
Showalter on Max Scherzer, who is rehabbing his left oblique strain in Florida: “He’s doing fine. Who knows what he’s doing away from the field. He’s probably had four or five sides right now.” . . . James McCann got the stitches out of his right wrist two weeks after having surgery on his left wrist. “I know Mac was about ready to gnaw them out,” Showalter said . . . Cody Bellinger (left adductor strain) returned to the Dodgers’ lineup after missing four games . . . The Mets have pitched nine shutouts this year, most in the majors. Last year they had eight . . . The Mets’ taxi squad: infielder Gosuke Katoh, righthander Jake Reed and catcher Nick Dini.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
