A week ago, Mets fans were antsy, needlessly tweeting at team owner Steve Cohen to sign players (that’s not his job, folks). On Monday, win-now never felt so real.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor — typing that won’t get old anytime soon — was introduced on Monday in a Zoom meeting with the team’s media corps.
The 27-year-old lived up to the “Mr. Smile” moniker, showing off the affable personality that precedes him as a player but settles into a background role once he steps on the diamond. Once those spikes are laced up, make no mistake, Lindor is a beast.
Since the start of 2019, Lindor’s hit .277/.335/.489 with 40 home runs, 28 stolen bases, a 15.1% strikeout rate, and 6.1 wins above replacement (FanGraphs).
On the other side of the chalk, the Puerto Rican product’s been just as prodigious, accumulating 11 outs above average at shortstop in 2019 and five OAA in 2020.
Lindor’s the epitome of a complete player. And, per the player himself, he couldn’t be happier to be in Flushing.
“There’s been so much excitement around the Mets, I couldn’t help myself to be extremely excited — to be happy,” Lindor told reporters. “These [current Mets] are ready to continue to work and ready to win. So it makes me very excited […] I just want to be a little piece of the puzzle.”
Surrounded by the likes of Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, and whoever else may find themselves in Queens before the start of spring training, Lindor finds himself in quite the opportunistic scenario.
Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
A solid pitching staff anchored by Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman, a heavyweight relief corps (that still needs a lefty), and the aforementioned positional core provided quite the foundation even before Mets GM Jared Porter pulled the trigger on this blockbuster.
With Lindor (and right-hander Carlos Carrasco) now in the fold, the Mets’ World Series odds improved from 16-1 to 12-1, via DraftKings. By the time Porter & Co. are done tinkering, this could very well be the undisputed team to beat in the National League.
Lindor made it clear he’s open to signing a long-term extension but admitted it’s a bridge he’s yet to cross with the Mets. One would have to assume that’s near the top of the front office’s to-do list once the roster is settled, but first things first.
“I can’t wait until day-one of spring training and start building. I just want to add a little bit to the great parts that they have. I’m not here to put the puzzle together. I just want to put my piece and hopefully, that’s good enough to help us continue to grow and eventually win.”
Mets fans like the sound of that. As for what the fans can expect from him as a player, Lindor was pretty straight-forward — and quite rousing — in his response.
“I have never been the type of player where it’s like, ‘Follow me, I’ll lead you to success’,” he said. “I’ve always been a person that, together, we all gonna achieve what we want. That’s what I bring.”
Fired up. LFGM.
