It hasn’t even really started yet, but the Cleveland Indians’ 2019 season is already off to a troubling beginning.
The team announced Friday that shortstop Francisco Lindor strained his right calf while preparing for the year and will miss 7-to-9 weeks, which could wipe out his entire spring training and perhaps even the beginning of the regular season.
Francisco Lindor could miss all of spring training with a right calf strain. Indians expect him to "return to major-league game activity" in 7 to 9 weeks.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) February 8, 2019
That essentially means that Lindor, one of the game’s bright young talents, won’t get the reps in spring training that he was counting on. The combination of time out plus the potential necessity of a rehab assignment may mean that Lindor won’t be on the field until mid- to late-April, and this will also make it harder for him to get his timing right in the batter’s box as he readjusts to seeing live MLB pitching on a daily basis.
Lindor, a three-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate, hit .277 with 38 home runs and 25 stolen bases last season.
