Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s finish off the infield. We’ve covered catcher, first base, second base, and third base. Now let’s take a look at short.
Big League Starter
Francisco Lindor. The shortstop acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Indians last offseason inked a 10-year, $341 million deal to stay with the Mets after the trade. Lindor is stuck with the Mets through at least 2025 as part of a modified no-trade clause in his contract. If he’s not traded, Lindor will be a Met until he’s a free agent in 2032.
The 28-year-old didn’t have the season the Mets were expecting. The switch-hitting shortstop had a career-low .250 batting average in orange and blue. Overall his numbers were just above league average, finishing with an OPS+ of 101.
Lindor is a four-time All-Star with two gold gloves, two silver slugger awards, and four top 15 MVP finishes. Encouraging for the Mets is after an injury that took away most of his second-half he refound his form in September and October. Over his final 30 games, Lindor hit .257/.346/.549 with nine home runs and 25 runs batted in. Lindor’s overall numbers would’ve likely been better without the injury as he heated up in July with a .333/.489/.500 batting line in 12 games in July.
Big League Depth
The only Met on their current roster that can play short outside of Lindor is Luis Guillorme. Guillorme has spent four seasons on the Mets and appeared in his most games in 2021 with 69.
Guillorme is known for his glove but he reaches base at an acceptable measure. He has a .356 on-base percentage across 178 career games and a .262 batting average. He’s also able to stretch out at-bats and finished 2021 with an equal amount of walks to strikeouts. His main knock is his lack of power with two home runs in 368 plate appearances.
Upper Minors Depth
Just one shortstop is on the Syracuse Mets roster, Matt Reynolds. Reynolds appeared in 115 games with the Mets across the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He bounced around to Washington and Kansas City in the years since and last played in the majors in 2020. Reynolds was a second-round pick of the Mets in 2012 and at 31 years old finds himself back in the organization. Expect the Mets to sign at least one shortstop to a minor league deal before the season starts.
Top Prospects
Ronny Mauricio headlines the Mets prospects at shortstop but his future at the position is not secure. Only 20 years old, Mauricio should start the season at Double-A Binghamton where he played a brief eight games in 2021. Mauricio moved down prospect big boards heading into 2022 because of his lack of discipline at the plate, striking out 112 times in 423 minor league at-bats. Unfortunately, that trend would continue while playing in the Dominican Winter League with 21 strikeouts to three walks in 94 plate appearances.
Mauricio is still the No. 3 prospect in the Mets system behind catcher Francisco Alvarez and third baseman Brett Baty. Mauricio is a switch-hitter with a thin 6-foot-3, 166-pound frame. He could eventually move to second base where the organization is thin. Still, he has power at the plate with 19 home runs over 100 games in High-A Brooklyn last year.
The next highest prospect the Mets have at short is Jaylen Palmer but the organization is transitioning the 21-year-old to the outfield despite being drafted out of Holy Cross High in Flushing as a shortstop.
That leaves Shervyen Newton. Newton was described by The Athletic’s Keith Law as “an elite defender with power” but notes the “has shown no adjustments at all in his pitch selection or recognition, striking out 41% of the time in 30 games in Low A – the same level where he played in 2019.
