Reese Kaplan -- Status of the Major Players on the Injured List

The principal players crowding the Mets IL constitute a major break in the planned ascension from the barely .500 team of 2025 when a flood of new names arrived as familiar names left.  Little by little it’s possible these athletes will return to regular duty but for now it’s a matter of waiting and watching the standings that keep the Mets at or near the bottom of the NL East.

Jorge Polanco

While the news filtered out that Polanco has resumed baseball activities while he’s healing from both the injuries to his wrist and his heel, POBO David Stearns is talking about week-to-week as a guideline for his improvement, not a day-to-day status change that will ensure his prompt return to the major league clubhouse.  Polanco has already gone on record stating that he’s expecting to play first base as he was informed when he signed his free agent deal but it is also possible that they will instead have him take on DH duties to allow him to slowly acclimate to the stress and strain of everyday play.  Of course, a lot of that role assignment is more than loosely connected to the warmth of substitute first baseman Mark Vientos’ bat which may need to stay in the lineup if it continues to contribute to run scoring. 

Francisco Lindor

Most Mets fans are well aware that the severity of Lindor’s calf injury is far worse than what teammate Juan Soto recently experienced.  The basic treatment is three weeks in a walking boot before attempting to resume unaided locomotion and before baseball activities resume.  The best bet has him returning in late May which would be optimistic considering he was disabled on April 22nd.  Others are saying at the All Star break.

Ronny Mauricio

Somewhat highly regarded substitute infielder Mauricio was having and up and down experience at the plate before his thumb fracture which will keep him out for quite some time.  He’s currently sitting on the ten-day IL but it’s possible he will be shifted to the 60-day IL in order to remove him from the 26-man roster and enable someone else to take his place for this extended absence.  Consensus among athletic recoveries, a healing period of 6 weeks is not uncommon. 

Luis Robert

Also still on the 10 day IL, the expected recovery from a herniated lumbar disk is 3.5 to 6 months for non-operative healing whereas surgery pushes it out to as long as 7 months.  It would seem that the expectation of a recovery during the 2026 baseball season is slim and then you’d have to wonder how much effort Robert will be allowed to give during what is considered an easing return to regular activity.

Kodai Senga

Also facing an issue with his lumbar spine, Senga is thankfully already doing light throwing but the expectation is that he will have a lengthy minor league recovery period before he’s returned to take a spot in the starting rotation.  Given his recent injury and effectiveness issues it means that it may amount to another lost season for the Japanese import. 

AJ Minter

Everyone knows that the hip issue that shut down Minter’s recovery was not a good thing and has put major question marks on his recovery time.  The latest symptoms mean his rehab clock has restarted for another 30 days which pushes his return likely into mid June or the All Star break as well.