Luisangel

Acuna

McNeil was cleared to play in the Arizona Fall League this week as he recovers from a wrist fracture. He should be able to play a couple more games in Arizona before joining the Mets on Sunday for the start of the NLCS against the Padres or Dodgers. If McNeil does make the Mets NLCS roster, he will give the team a much-needed left-handed bat off the bench, which could mean that Luisangel Acuna gets left off the roster.

Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez and J.D. Martinez are sitting. Mark Vientos was in the first lineup we saw, but he’s gone from the updated one. Jesse Winker is absent, too, which suggests that the Mets are obscuring an injury there, considering he also didn’t play on Sunday or in Game 1. The full lineup: SS Acuña, 3B Jose Iglesias, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, DH Starling Marte, RF Tyrone Taylor, CF Harrison Bader, C Luis Torrens and 2B Eddy Alvarez.

Francisco Lind-who? No, not really, but Acuna has hit three homers in only eight games, and he’s now slugging .885 with a .385 average in his 26 at-bats. Acuna is likely to head back to the bench once Lindor is healthy enough to play, but it’s a nice peak into the future of what the 22-year-old could be as a full-time player in the coming years.

Sunday will be Lindor’s last chance to make back on the field this weekend. Luisangel Acuna continues to play shortstop and bat ninth in Lindor’s stead.

On Monday, Lindor gave his return timetable as anywhere from two to five days. Thursday will be his fourth missed game, so it’s not a surprise that he remains out of the lineup, but the Mets will hope to get him back sometime this weekend against the Phillies. The veteran did perform agility drills and play catch on Wednesday, so there is some hope he’s nearing a return. Luisangel Acuna has been starting at shortstop in his place over the last three days.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive start to a career than what Acuña has done over the last few days. He’s now homered in back-to-back games while playing lights out defense at shortstop just as Francisco Lindor has gone on the shelf with a back injury while the Mets are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff berth. Many questioned whether he’d be able to hit at the major league level after struggling at triple-A and he responded by going 7-for-15 so far with nine hard-hit balls on just 13 balls in play. There’s no telling what the rest of his career will hold, but this is a remarkable start.

It looks like Lindor’s absence, which he said would be 2-3 or 3-5 days, might turn out to be more like 5-6 or 6-8 days. But we’ll see. Once he resumes workouts, he’ll certainly push to get back into the lineup. Luisangel Acuña will continue to fill in.

It was the first big league home run for the 22-year-old, who figures to earn regular playing time over the next week with Francisco Lindor sidelined. While it’s fun to dream on the upside of Ronald’s younger brother, it’s important to remember that Luisangel is young and hit just .258 with seven home runs, 50 RBI, and 40 steals in 131 games at Triple-A. He could be a good source of speed over the next week but the rest of the stats may be less reliable.

Oh dear. Lindor did not look right in his only at-bat, and the infielder has already been replaced by Luisangel Acuna. This is very likely related to his back injury that sidelined him Saturday, but there should be an update before the end of Sunday’s game.

Acuna hit .258 with seven home runs, 50 RBI and 40 steals in 131 games at Triple-A this year. With Jeff McNeil out for the rest of the season and Francisco Lindor dealing with a back issue, it was pretty much a no-brainer for the Mets to call up the 22-year-old, who was already on the 40-man roster. DJ Stewart was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster. Acuna could immediately be a good source of speed if he can get on base, though he had a .299 on-base percentage at Triple-A this year.