Francisco Lindor is still on track to be in the lineup coming Opening Day. But first, he’ll have to get spring training at-bats, something the Mets‘ shortstop has not yet been able to do since undergoing hamate surgery at the start of camp.

President of baseball operations David Stearns gave his annual mid-camp briefing Monday afternoon at Clover Park. So far, the Mets have only minimal updates on Lindor, but a hamate surgery is probably considered a minimal surgery of sorts, at least relatively speaking. The Mets have been hesitant to set any firm timeline for a date when Lindor might get into a game, whether that’s a Grapefruit League game or a backfield game at the complex, though Stearns said he would expect Lindor to get Grapefruit League at-bats.

“All indications we have is this is going as planned,” Stearns told reporters. “We have a similar level of optimism that he’ll be ready for Opening Day.”

As far as a potential replacement for Lindor if he isn’t ready, the leaders are still Vidal Brujan and Ronny Mauricio. It’s unlikely they both make the team out of camp, especially since Brett Baty is converting to utility man. Brujan’s lack of Major League options might work in his favor, with the Mets opting to carry him in the early part of the season and start Mauricio, who has one option year left, in Triple-A.

But with two weeks left to play in spring training, the Mets aren’t yet ready to say anyone other than Lindor will be the shortstop come March 26, when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.

There are very few positions left to be determined. Right field remains a competition between Carson Benge, Mike Tauchman and M.J. Melendez. If it’s not Benge, Tyrone Taylor could find himself playing more right field than he has the last two seasons. Melendez, who is currently playing with Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, has never been able to hit at the Major League level, and Tauchman was signed as an injury policy.

However, Tauchman is having a strong spring, hitting .308 with a 1.269 OPS, one home run and three walks. The former Yankees outfielder wasn’t signed until after camp began, but wasted no time in making a statement.

“I think we have the right field question that we’re going to have to answer, there’s probably a bench question we’re going to have to answer, and then one or two bullpen spots that we’re going to have to answer. But for the most part, this is about getting our team and individual players ready for the season. I think we’re doing that.”

A 23-year-old top prospect out of Oklahoma State, Benge only has 131 pro games under his belt. He’s aware that the Major League season is much longer than the minor league season, and that it will take considerable work to be able to withstand a 162-game regular season. He has continually said he’s ready for the challenge, but similar to the bench decision with Brujan and Mauricio, the Mets could ultimately decide to start him in Triple-A this season and use Tauchman in the early months.

“I think Carson is having a nice camp, similar to all of our guys,” Stearns said. “He’s worked really hard. I think we’ve had a very work intensive camp across the field, and Carson has participated in that. In games, we’ve seen what we would have expected. He’s taken very competitive at-bats; he’s a tough out. I think he’s played a nice right field. So he’s done what we would expect him to do.

“We think he’s going to be a really good player, and we’ll have a difficult decision as we get towards the end of camp.”

It’s spring training, the games don’t count, and it’s hard to find too many faults in what someone like Benge has done over the last month. The same goes for most of the players on the roster. Stearns isn’t the only executive talking about how excited he is about the team he put together because it’s too soon to know if they can put it all together on the field when it actually does count.

At this point in the calendar, it’s about the process more than the results. Stearns is happy with the process after a month of spring training.

“I think we have a group that is actively trying to get better every single day, and that can be somewhat unique with a team full of veterans,” he said. “That’s not often the case. A lot of times, when it comes to spring training with a veteran team, everyone has really just got Opening Day circled, and it’s about counting down the days to Opening Day. I think what we felt here is guys are taking every single day seriously. They’re going out, they’re getting they’re working, they’re working very well with our coaching staff. It’s been really good to see.”