PORT ST. LUCIE — Francisco Lindor is weeks away from beginning full workouts, but that doesn’t mean he will be absent from the Mets scene in spring training.
After undergoing surgery last week for a broken hamate bone in his left hand, the All-Star shortstop affirmed his hope to return in time for Opening Day, but not before he gets to mesh with the team’s new cast.
That meant showing up Sunday to Clover Park, a day ahead of the team’s first full-squad workout.
“We have a lot of new faces that I want to get to know and I wanted to interact with them,” Lindor said. “Just being outside with the guys … it sucks I can’t be out there doing everything they do.”
Lindor is facing a six-week recovery from the surgery, which was performed Wednesday.
He didn’t back away from the notion he’ll play on Opening Day.
“I’m very optimistic,” Lindor said. “My goal is to be there. I trust the Mets staff and feel like they have dealt with it many times and they are really good.”
Lindor said he had dealt with discomfort in the hand “over the years” and following a full workout Feb. 6 felt something was amiss, which led to the surgery decision.
Previously, Lindor was scratched from the World Baseball Classic — he was set to serve as Puerto Rico’s captain — after the event’s insurer denied him coverage. Lindor said that decision stemmed from his offseason surgery to clean up his elbow.
“It definitely caught me by surprise,” Lindor said of the denied insurance coverage. “I felt like I was ready. … They hadn’t seen me [play] all offseason and I had surgery at the end of the [season].”
Even an intervention by Bad Bunny couldn’t help — the Puerto Rican rapper offered to purchase an insurance policy for the shortstop, but the WBC wouldn’t allow it, according to Lindor.
“We appreciate how much [Bad Bunny] cares for Puerto Rico,” Lindor said. “He wanted Puerto Rico to be as strong as it can be, but it didn’t work out.”
Lindor said the offseason overhaul of the Mets — spearheaded by president of baseball operations David Stearns — was understandable given the disappointing manner last season ended, with the team missing the playoffs. The new cast includes Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams, Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr., with Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and Edwin Díaz among the departed.
“The year didn’t end the way we all wanted and it’s a business and you have a feeling that every year is not going to look the same,” Lindor said. “Stearns is one of the best and this group, they are great, so it was interesting to see how they went about it.
“All offseason it seemed it was quiet and then all of a sudden it wasn’t quiet and then it went back to being quiet,” Lindor said. “They did a really good job with how they did it. I am looking forward to this year.”
