Monday, June 22

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat.

PHILADELPHIA -- Though the Mets are still working out the details of Francisco Lindor’s return to the Mets, he seems likely to come back at some point this week at Citi Field -- possibly as soon as Wednesday for their final game of a three-game set against the Cubs. 

If ever there was an inflection point to the Mets’ season, this is it. 

Lindor, who is unquestionably one of the Mets’ best players, has been sidelined for exactly two months. At the time of his injury, the Mets were 8-16. They have since gone 26-27, staying on the fringes of the National League playoff picture without engineering the type of prolonged winning streak they’ll need to reinsert themselves in a meaningful way. They may never do that, even with Lindor. But he at least gives them a chance. 

At Lindor’s best, as teammate Juan Soto put it, “his defense and his bat are elite.” Lindor is a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glover who finished second in NL MVP voting just two seasons ago. That year, Lindor -- on a bad back, no less -- almost singlehandedly willed the Mets into the playoffs, hitting one of the most impactful home runs in franchise regular-season history in Game 161, before crushing a grand slam in NL Division Series Game 4 to lead the Mets into the NL Championship Series. 

“He’s one of the best in the game,” second baseman Marcus Semien said. “We’ll take one of the best in the game in this lineup every time.” 

Semien did caution that “things are going to take time to get back in rhythm” for Lindor, which is one of several concerns still surrounding him. Notorious for slow starts to his seasons, Lindor was in the midst of one prior to his injury, batting just .226/.314/.355 with two home runs in 24 games. Last year, it took Lindor more than three weeks at the start of the campaign to bring his OPS over .700. Even two years ago, in arguably the best season of his career, Lindor didn’t push that OPS above .700 until June. 

Although this week won’t mark Opening Day for Lindor, it should be a rough facsimile of it, considering he hasn’t played in two months and will return without the benefit of a lengthy rehab assignment. 

From a wider lens, there’s also some concern that Lindor, at age 32, is beginning the decline phase of his career. Injuries have increasingly become a concern for Lindor, who dealt with back trouble down the stretch in 2024 and a fractured toe in 2025, then underwent a right elbow debridement procedure last offseason. This spring, Lindor had a second operation to repair the hamate bone in his left wrist, prompting fears of the exact type of slow start he was dealing with before his latest injury. 

All that stated, Lindor is one of the few current Mets with the DNA of a superstar. If they are to forge a path back up the NL standings, he will almost have to be a significant part of it. 

“It’s Francisco Lindor,” as pitcher Sean Manaea put it. “He’s an integral part of this team. I can’t wait to have him back and just have his presence again.” 

Who is the Mets’ all-time wins leader among Japanese-born pitchers? 

A) Daisuke Matsuzaka

B) Kodai Senga

C) Hisanori Takahashi 

D) Masato Yoshii

The Mets will have a notable celebrity in the house Monday at Citi Field, where longtime Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen will throw out a ceremonial first pitch before New York’s series opener against the Cubs. 

Breen, a native of Yonkers, N.Y., and a Fordham University graduate, has been calling Knicks games for more than two decades. Famous for his “Bang!” calls after big plays, Breen recently told Sports Illustrated podcaster Jimmy Traina that if Jalen Brunson’s late three-point attempt in NBA Finals Game 4 had gone in, he would have reacted with the first triple “Bang!” of his career. 

Instead, for Breen, calling an NBA title and throwing out a first pitch at Citi Field will have to do. 

One piece from our Pipeline staff that caught my eye this week was this one on Jonathan Santucci, the Mets’ second-round Draft pick in 2024. It’s notable mostly because Santucci, in his age-23 season, could be the next great pitching hope to come out of New York’s system. 

That’s no knock on No. 5 prospect Jack Wenninger or No. 13 prospect Zach Thornton, both of whom are closer to the Majors than Santucci. But while those two have proven inconsistent, Santucci, the organization’s No. 8 prospect, has been pitching well enough for Double-A Binghamton -- a 2.81 ERA over his last eight outings -- that a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse could occur at any time. 

Like Wenninger, Santucci must cut down his walk rate if he is to succeed at the highest levels of professional baseball. But after a rocky start to his 2026 season, the left-hander is very much on his way. 

• Freddy Peralta’s last start in Philadelphia wasn’t just bad, it was the worst of his career by a significant margin. What exactly is going on with Peralta? Could this affect the Mets’ Trade Deadline plans? How about his free agency? We dug into those questions Saturday night in Philly. 

• On the other side of things, Luke Weaver’s velocity is up, and the results have been sensational. Noah Yingling broke down how Weaver has re-established himself as one of MLB’s best relievers. 

• Last week, I held an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit, answering questions ranging from the Mets’ possible Trade Deadline plans to the best food at Citi Field. Read the highlights here. That story also includes a link to the full AMA. 

B) Senga

Senga passed Yoshii last May to become the Mets’ all-time wins leader among Japanese-born pitchers. Senga, who is scheduled to start Monday against the Cubs, is 20-18 in his Major League career. 

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