The New York Mets put themselves in a compromising position after selling at the trade deadline, leading to sweeps at the hands of both the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles this week that pushed them 11 games below .500. With few bright spots to point to, veterans Francisco Lindor and José Quintana both stepped up and found success amidst a difficult situation.

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Hitter of the Week

Francisco Lindor, despite his reputation and all of the fanfare, remains one of baseball’s most underrated stars, and he proved his worth yet again this week.

Lindor went 1-for-3 with a walk in the opener against Kansas City on Tuesday before taking an “O-fer” in Wednesday’s contest. On Thursday afternoon, he broke up what would have been New York’s second-straight shutout loss with a two-run, two-out home run in the ninth inning off Jonathan Heasley.

Lindor drove in two runs on a bases-loaded single against the Orioles on Friday as part of a two-hit performance. On Saturday, he went 2-for-4 with a double before going 1-for-3 with a single and stolen base to close out the week on Sunday afternoon.

In total, Lindor slashed .333/.417/.571 with a home run and four RBI.

Pitcher of the Week

After hearing his name swirl around in trade rumors, José Quintana showcased what he can bring to the table as a key rotation piece in 2024.

Quintana’s first start of the week came on Tuesday against Kansas City. He worked around trouble over the first four inning to keep the Royals off the board before allowing the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. He went on to give up two more runs in the seventh and departed that inning as well, finishing his outing with two strikeouts while giving up six hits and two walks.

Quintana’s second outing of the week was against the Orioles on Sunday. He kept Baltimore’s potent lineup in check until the fifth inning when he gave up an RBI fielder’s choice to Adley Rutschman. He left the game in the seventh inning once again after surrendering back-to-back hits and finished his day with six strikeouts while allowing two runs on six hits.

Quintana threw 12 2/3 innings this week, allowing five runs on 12 hits while striking out eight batters.