Mets say Luis Robert Jr. is day-to-day with lower back tightness

Luis Robert Jr. | (Photo: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

In addition to mentioning that Juan Soto is dealing with forearm tightness in his pregame press availability, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that fellow outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is dealing with lower back tightness. The team considers him day-to-day at the moment.

The perpetually-injured Robert is in his age-28 season, his first in Queens as he came to the organization in a trade with the White Sox over the offseason. Over the course of his major league career, he’s topped out at 145 games played in a single season, and his next-best total was 110. Over the last five seasons, he’s averaged 104 games played per year.

On top of the injury concerns, Robert came into this season with back-to-back 84 wRC+ seasons to his name in 2024 and 2025 in Chicago. He’s off to a slightly better start than that with a .224/.327/.329 line and a 94 wRC+, but he’s been worth just 0.2 fWAR and hasn’t looked the part of a stellar defender in center field.

Still, with Francisco Lindor out of the Mets’ lineup for the foreseeable future, the last thing the Mets need is another injured player. Here’s hoping Robert ends up being fine and returning in a matter of days, but it won’t be shocking if he ends up missing more time than that given his track record.