Between games of today’s doubleheader, the Mets reinstated shortstop Francisco Lindor from the ten-day injured list. In a corresponding move, infielder Zack Short was designated for assignment.
A left calf strain sent Lindor to the IL for about two months. Before hitting the shelf, he was out to a slow start, hitting .226/.314/.355. For the Mets, he will ideally get back on track and fast. He’s a career .273/.342/.473 hitter with speed and defense to go with. He has already racked up 60.9 wins above replacement in his career, per FanGraphs.
Due to injuries to Lindor and several others, as well as struggles from some healthy guys, the Mets are not in a good spot. They are 34-45, putting them eight games out of a playoff spot. If the Mets are going to avoid a sell-off ahead of the trade deadline, they will need to stretch some wins together soon.
Now that Lindor is back, the Mets appear to be returning to the roster arrangement they had earlier in the year where they went light on infield depth, particularly up the middle. Bo Bichette should return to third base and effectively act as the backup shortstop. Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Eric Wagaman will be infielders on the bench but they are more corner guys.
Short, 31, was claimed off waivers a little over a week ago. A glove-first infielder, he has a .171/.271/.289 line in his career but has lots of experience at shortstop, second base and third base, in addition to some brief outfield time. The Mets have been without Lindor, Jorge Polanco and Ronny Mauricio for quite a while, so they needed some extra infield depth. Short got into three games and was sent to the plate nine times. He got one hit, a single, and struck out five times.
It’s been a transaction-heavy season for Short. He began the year with the Yankees on a minor league deal. He was traded to the Nationals in March and then the Tigers in May. Detroit selected him to the roster as they were dealing with a number of injuries. He was designated for assignment after a couple of days but then was re-signed to a major league deal. He lasted about a month before being designated for assignment again, which led to the Mets claiming him. He has a .159/.278/.205 line between the two clubs.
He now heads into DFA limbo once again and should be back on waivers in the coming days. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous outright in his career.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Doster, Imagn Images
