Lindor activated from IL

NEW YORK — It’s hard to overstate how bad the Mets have been since Francisco Lindor went down in their first game after the All-star break. At 47-41, they were, if inconsistent, solidly in control of the NL East. They’ve completely collapsed since, going 14-22 without their shortstop and falling to third place and the very fringes of the playoff picture. (Depending on where you look, their postseason odds are now between five and 15%.)

They have to hope that Lindor’s return is the start of a surge over the final 38 games, where they sit 6.5 games out of a playoff spot. After missing 36 games with an oblique injury, Lindor will be in the lineup Monday night.

“It’s huge that we’re having him back, right?” manager Luis Rojas said before the matchup against the Giants.

“Having his presence on the field is something that we missed for over a month now. His energy, his bat, his defense, everything he brings to help the team win games,” Rojas said.

While Lindor had been off to an extremely slow start, his bat was heating up before the injury. His batting average leapt more than 40 points in his last 45 games, and his OPS was .989 in July before he went down.

“It’s been hard to be out there without his presence,” Rojas said. That’s an understatement, as nearly all of the Mets’ regular position players are having down years offensively. “I know a lot of guys are better because he is there. We play good defense, we play good in other areas,” the manager said Monday. “We just haven’t been hitting as much . ... He’s a guy that you can count on his bat.”

Lindor brings another element to the Mets: They can move Javy Baez to second base. The longtime friends will create a lethal double-play combo. “So much energy,” Rojas said of that prospective duo last week. “Those two guys are looking really good.”

The team sent down infielder Travis Blankenhorn to make space for Lindor.