Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Making a huge splash last offseason, the New York Mets acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor in a six-player trade from the Cleveland Indians and were hopeful he could help transform this organization into a sustainable playoff contender, allowing them to end their current postseason drought.

Arriving to spring training in his “Coming to America” themed jacket, there was plenty of hype surrounding Lindor back in February, and rightly so, but that excitement has quickly shifted to a ton of frustration through the first two months of the regular season. With expectations set extremely high, the Mets were counting on the 27-year-old to lead the way out of the gate, however, he hasn’t played up to that standard just yet and has struggled mightily at the plate in 2021.

After posting a career-worst 102 wRC+ score and a -1.9 offensive WAR rating last season, the 5′ 11″ shortstop has witnessed his offensive production sink even further this season and has become a major liability within the heart of New York’s batting order.

Over his 185 plate appearances, Lindor has recorded just four doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, a .083 ISO, a .203 BABIP, a .256 wOBA, a .307 xwOBA, a .305 xwOBAcon, a 66 wRC+ score, a -6.7 offensive WAR rating, a 0.1 fWAR rating and a disappointing slashing line of .185/.290/.268/.557.

Considering the four-time All-Star has won a pair of Silver Slugger awards in the past, receiving this type of production, or lack of it, is very uncharacteristic of him and is something that’ll need to change as the 2021 campaign progresses. Having said that, the talented middle infielder hasn’t allowed his offensive woes to impact his stellar performance up the middle of the diamond.

Case in point, Lindor was riding an 0-for-14 hitting slump during the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies, and yet, he still made an incredible diving grab to secure the second out of the inning.

Though Lindor has served as a below-average hitter up to this point, his defense has been the complete opposite and is one of the lone bright spots of his young tenure with the Mets. While no one should be surprised by his outstanding defensive performance, especially since he’s won two Gold Glove awards in his career, it’s still encouraging to see him make an impact with his glove in spite of his troubling offensive metrics.

Proving to be a reliable cornerstone on the left side of the infield, the former first-round selection has compiled 364.0 innings, generating a 6 OAA, 1 DRS, 0.2 UZR, -1.2 UZR/150 and a 2.1 defensive WAR rating.

In comparison to the rest of the majors, the right-handed fielder is currently tied for the sixth-most DRS, tied for the 13th-highest UZR and owns the 13th-highest defensive WAR rating among all shortstops who’ve totaled at least 100.0 innings, according to FanGraphs.com. Additionally, he’s also produced the third-highest OAA, according to BaseballSavant.com.

Photo: USA Today

As for where Lindor’s outstanding defense ranks amongst all defenders in the major leagues, his 6 OAA is tied for the fourth-highest score in that department, which is a fairly remarkable accomplishment.

Digging deeper into his defensive performance, the 2016 AL Platinum Glove award winner has excelled at multiple different areas on both sides of the diamond in 2021, allowing him to provide quality defense in his natural spot and while being shifted over the second base side as well. Since the Mets have focused heavily on shifting their defense this season – something they rarely executed in previous seasons – the superstar infielder has been a perfect fit to this club’s defensive game plan.

While there are still areas for improvement, Lindor has acted as a vacuum for baseballs over his first two months in blue pinstripes, fielding everything that’s been directed to him on the left and right sides of second base.

Here are Lindor’s starting positions this season:

And here are Lindor’s ending positions:

Despite performing effectively around second base, Lindor has endured minor issues in the hole between the shortstop and third base positions, particularly when he’s been forced to range towards the edge of the grass. But considering this is an area where he’s struggled throughout his career, it shouldn’t be an alarming concern or something that significantly impacts his overall production moving forward.

At his current pace, it’s probably safe to say the proud native of Puerto Rico is firmly in the running for a third career Gold Glove award, although the race for that accolade is far from complete. Since shortstops Nick Ahmed and Andrelton Simmons are both ranked higher than him in OAA this season, the $341 million infielder certainly has some ground to make up this summer.

Looking ahead, as long as Lindor maintains his current range and arm strength, there’s a very strong chance he’ll be able to continue serving as an elite defender throughout the majority of his time in Queens. Even if his offensive decline continues, the veteran infielder’s defense should help him remain a productive player regardless of his performance in the batter’s box.

With four months remaining in the regular season, there’s still plenty of time for the former top prospect to turn his offensive performance around, especially since he’s played less than 50 games in 2021. Needing to make some adjustments to his swing, it’ll be extremely important for him to reduce his 48.8% GB rate, which is his highest rate since 2016.

 

Though the start to Lindor’s tenure with the Mets hasn’t been ideal, a mid-season turnaround at the plate, paired with his elite defense, could allow him to salvage his 2021 performance and provide this club an opportunity to appear in the playoffs for the first time since 2016.