The Mets announced this morning that Francisco Lindor underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow (relayed by Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News). He is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Lindor remained one of the sport’s most durable and effective players this past season. The switch-hitting shortstop appeared in 160 games and hit .254/.336/.470 across 687 plate appearances. He popped 31 home runs, 33 doubles and stole 31 bases while being thrown out on just four occasions. Paired with his consistently strong defensive grades, the four-time All-Star had another excellent year.
While the Mets were a major disappointment overall, Lindor looks likely to finish in the top 10 in MVP balloting for the fifth time in his career. He joined Ronald Acuña Jr., Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodríguez as the only players with a 30-30 season. He continued to produce even as the team was out of the race, hitting .274/.355/.460 in the second half.
Assuming his rehab goes as planned, Lindor will head into next spring as one of the league’s top shortstops. He’ll be a key contributor for the Mets as they look for a rebound showing in 2024 under a new front office and manager. Lindor is under contract for $32MM annually for another eight seasons.
I didn’t know he had a 6.0 WAR this season.
Right? I was thoroughly unimpressed with Lindor’s season. Most of his offense came in games that were out of reach. Too many GIDP and SO with RISP. Too many times I watched him flop on his belly,glove outstretched,and have yet another hit off the Mets beleaguered pitching staff go into CF for a hit and run scored.
@brooklyn62 You are 100% correct. Its funny how I’ve been talking about how unclutch Lindor is the past 3 years and everyone thought I was crazy. I’m glad people are waking up now
6 WAR and a 30/30 season. I didn’t expect him to be that good this past season either.
Even Westbrook can average 20 points. But have s.hit attitude and 0 leadership skills in the clubhouse.
Westbrook takes 25 shots/game. He should average 35 (I agree with your point)
What S.hit attitude? How are you privy to his leadership skills in the clubhouse? I have seen him on the field working with the young guys on the infield on the field and in the dugout., encouraging them when they are down or teaching them after a mistake.
Are you referring to thumbs down? He owned up to it and has learned from it..
Referring to the rat-racoon incident. McNeil is over it so Lindor must have atoned for that mistake. If McNeil is over it so should everyone else.
I wasn’t referring to any of these incidents but you’ve made my point for me.
And who knows Andres Giminez, for whom Lindor was traded, beat out Lindor in the MVP voting in 2022, or that AG’s rWAR since the trade during the 2020-21 offseason so that Cohen could make his ‘splash’ is essentially identical to Lindor’s—but for comparative salaries of $2 million vs $90 million.
“Most of his offense came in games that were out of reach. Too many GIDP and SO with RISP.”
This is a great example of why going off the eye test is a problem. Can anyone guess what Lindors RISP stats are? You can use the eye test all you want but hits with RISP is a stat that just doesn’t lie.
The cool thing is you don’t HAVE to guess. These stats are readily available.
Lindors slash line/RISP-2 outs: .296/.415/500
That’s with 65 plate appearances.
Lindor was wildly clutch for the Mets.
You’re in a haters thread. Don’t ruin their narratives with facts.
Sadly, when I reread what I wrote, I see the sarcasm and that actually wasn’t my intention.
You can watch the stats, I watched the games. Mr.Smiles was not Mr.Clutch when the Mets were down by 1 0r 2 runs with RISP. Any statistics,whether MLB,the economy, or what have you, can be massaged, manipulated and twisted to provide whoever is presenting them as “facts”.
@SalaryCapMyth you are so misleading, perfect example of bending the stats to fit your agenda. Hits with Risp mean nothing when the game is a blowout. Here are his 2023 stats (batting average) according to baseball reference:
Mind you he batted around .253 this year
Close games: .192
Tie games: .187
Within 1 run: .216
Within 2 runs: .232
Within 3 runs: .246
Within 4 runs: .245
Stats in blowouts: .319 BA
You know nothing about the game
Empty and quiet with no pressure the second half of the year. WAR is making a case that it’s an ineffective stat when measuring performance.
Acuna coming in to Citi Field to play SS. Ronald’s younger brother.
More likely second base. Lindor is great at SS and has never played 2B in the majors or minors. Mets have been trying Acuña out a little at 2B.
@Shawn W. That’s a hard, loud ‘no.’ Lindor was a plus-fielding SS in 2023 even with the bone spur, and in 2022 and 2021 he was +12 and +21 by OAA. I’d agree some decline is present, but moving him in the next 5 years is hugely unlikely.
Lindor has over 42 rWAR by age 29. We are likely watching a future HOF player.
Avg bWAR of the 23 SS in the HOF is 67.7. He’s well on the way.
@LordD99 I’d be interested in comparisons with other SS’s turning 30. Lindor may well decline rapidly (they often do, though everyone points to Jeter), but the last two seasons give him real hope despite the steep decline in OAA (related to the bone spur)?.
Still, BBWAA voters are more likely to look at fangraphs WAR, and fWAR loves him: a whopping 47.7 fWAR as of the end of 2023. He can experience a rapid decline, say 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 fWAR, and still breach the magical 60 fWAR barrier.
mlbcomparisons.com/derek-jeter-vs-francisco-lindor…
If you look at each of their first nine seasons (excluding Jeter’s 95), their stats stack up well against one another. Jeter was a better pure hitter but Lindor has more pop and is much better defensively. We should see at least two more seasons of 5-6 bWAR from Lindor. I don’t see the steep decline in your example bc his power and defense should remain intact at average or above in should his other skills erode.
I’d be interested in comparisons with other SS’s turning 30. Lindor may well decline rapidly
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That the more important question. Per FG, from 1930-2023, the highest WAR for SS’s thru age 29 was ARod followed by Vaughan, Ripken and Lindor. That’s pretty select company. And the next four guys were all HOFers.
Still, even injury could do him in. Correa had a 39.5 bWAR thru age 27, and I’d bet against him making it.
@LordD99 He is not a hall of famer in my opinion but the HOF has become a joke now so I wouldn’t be surprised if he is. WAR is an awful indicator of success. You need to take into account everything, including the post season. Guys like Scott Rolen and Lou Whitaker do not belong in the HOF (even though Rolen made it in). I think they have given Steve Garvey a raw deal. I know he didnt used to walk nor hit a lot of homers but to me hes clearly a HOFer with all his accolades. Who would you rather have on your team, Tim Raines or Steve Garvey? 99% of people are choosing Steve Garvey
Garvey wasn’t nearly as good as Rolen. Rolen had a 122 OPS+ against Garvey’s 117, while Rolen was a great fielding 3B.
Watched both in their prime, Tim Raines for me.
I’d take Raines or Rolen over Garvey.
Prime Garvey over Rolen.
Golf clap for KC’s #2 pick in the draft.
Didn’t realize how much Witt has crushed it in his 2 seasons at age 23. Hope the team has a quick turnaround so this kid can get some national exposure….. Wonder what his ceiling will be?
The way Witt is improving each year, he might have a legitimate shot at 40/40 maybe a year or two away, well within his prime.
In 2022, Lindor was outstanding when the Mets took that big lead in the AL East. Then he went poof when Atlanta came on in the second half and batted .200 in the playoffs. This season, he was batting something like .220 in the first half. When the Mets were out of the playoff race, well, he really turned it on, didn’t he?
I have been standing on my soapbox for years to see Garvey in the HOF. WAR is not a true indicator of Garvey as a player, on field leader,and model of consistency. 6 out of 7 years with 200+ hits, 2599 lifetime,NL record of 1207 consecutive games played,1974 NL MVP,1978 1984 NLCS MVP, 10x All Star,the first 1B to not have an error in a season,4 Gold Gloves. His accomplishments truly merit him as a HOFer without question. Even the Padres, who he only played for in 5 seasons, retired his number!