Mets Notebook: Francisco Lindor’s broken toe not expected to hinder him all season

Carlos Mendoza made a compromise.

The Mets manager wanted to give Francisco Lindor a rare day off on Sunday as the shortstop continues to deal with a fractured pinky toe.

But Lindor wasn’t having it.

“We went back and forth last night after the game, and we settled on [him being] the DH,” Mendoza said before Sunday’s game at Citi Field. “Get him off his feet a little bit, but trying to keep his bat in the lineup, obviously his presence. With the off day coming up [on Monday], trying to buy some extra time there.”

Sunday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays marked Lindor’s first game as the designated hitter this season.

Each of his previous 68 starts came at shortstop.

Lindor suffered the broken bone in his right foot when he was hit by a pitch on June 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He did not start the next two games, but he entered the second one as a pinch-hitter and delivered a game-winning double against the Colorado Rockies.

The 31-year-old leadoff hitter then started the next seven games at shortstop.

“I don’t think this is something that he’s going to have to play through the whole year,” Mendoza said Sunday. “We feel like at some point the fracture will heal.”

Lindor entered Sunday batting .282 with 14 home runs, 38 RBI, 13 stolen bases and an .835 OPS.

He was 9-for-30 (.300) in the eight games since he returned from the toe injury.

“It’s getting better,” Mendoza said of Lindor’s toe. “It’s all about pain tolerance. It feels like, day by day, he’s getting better. There’s better days than others, but what I’m getting from the trainers is [that] hopefully in the next couple of weeks, he’ll be a lot better.”

Luisangel Acuña made his third start of the season at shortstop on Sunday.

SPIRITED SENGA

Kodai Senga is in good spirits after he received positive news on his injured right hamstring, Mendoza said.

The Mets’ ace was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain — the lowest level of severity — on Friday and is set to be re-evaluated after two weeks.

“He’s going to continue to try to keep his arm moving, which is a good sign,” Mendoza said Sunday. “He’s not being completely shut down. He was already saying [on Saturday] that he felt better than he did before, so, definitely, he’s in a better place.”

Senga’s absence dinged a Mets starting rotation that entered Sunday with an MLB-best 2.82 ERA but that has faced adversity of late.

Tylor Megill surrendered six runs (three earned) in 3.2 innings in Saturday’s loss and owns a 5.52 ERA over his last three starts.

Frankie Montas (lat strain) has a 13.17 ERA in five minor-league rehab starts, prompting questions about his role when he joins the MLB roster.

But Mendoza remains confident in the Mets’ depth.

“Overall, I feel good, especially with guys like Montas, Sean [Manaea], where they’re at in their rehab process. We have some reinforcements coming,” Mendoza said. “But we’ve got to keep going, and we feel good with what we have.”

ON THE MARK

Mark Vientos will begin a rehab assignment for a right hamstring strain on Tuesday at Triple-A Syracuse, Mendoza said Sunday.

Vientos, 25, landed on the injured list on June 3 after hitting .230 with six home runs through 53 games.

Mendoza did not know how many rehab games Vientos would need, saying, “We’ll see how that goes.”

ADDED RELIEF

The Mets added a fresh arm to their bullpen before Sunday’s game, calling up right-hander Tyler Adcock from Triple-A Syracuse while optioning right-hander Justin Garza to Syracuse.

This is the second call-up of the season for Adcock, who recorded one out in a scoreless appearance on May 1. He has a 4.50 ERA in 18 appearances at Triple-A.

Garza, meanwhile, has made three scoreless appearances for the Mets — including on Friday and Saturday — since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants this month.