The New York Mets have not had a great start to the 2024 season, sitting at 26-35 overall, and are very much in the category of being a seller as of right now, barring a hot streak in the next month or two to get back into contention, and while that possibility looms for the second straight season, shortstop Francisco Lindor is not worried about the decisions that loom for the front office.
“The front office, they're going to make decisions no matter what,” Francisco Lindor said, via Jorge Castillo of ESPN. “Whether it's to add or subtract. And whether it's to focus on the next season or focus on August and September. … So they're going to make decisions. I want to be on the side of adding. We don't have 100-plus games for that moment. But we do have time to make sure we're above water.”
The Mets are on a two-game winning streak and are looking to complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a win on Wednesday. Still, that would leave the Mets eight games below .500 with a lot of ground to make up if they want to be adding at the deadline.
Last year was more surprising for the Mets, they disappointed after winning 100 games in 2022 and signing Justin Verlander in the offseason. New York sold at the deadline, trading Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers and sending Verlander to the Houston Astros. In the offseason, David Stearns made some additions on the margins after a failed pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It was clear that there was more of a long-term view going into 2024 for the Mets, but there was some hope that they could be better than they have performed so far. Part of why the Mets have disappointed is Lindor's performance, particularly on offense.
Francisco Lindor's disappointing start to 2024 with the Mets
The Mets depend on Lindor to provide a lot of value on both sides of the ball, and while he still has a good defensive reputations, the offensive production has not been up to expectations this year. He usually has around a 120 wRC+, which is an all-encompasing offensive stat, and is sitting at 105 this year, according to FanGraphs, which means he is just five percent above the league average hitter in 2024. That is just not good enough.
The good news is that Lindor traditionally is a better hitter in the second half than he is in the first half of the season. For instance, last year he had a 118 wRC+ in the first half in comparison to a 126 wRC+ in the second half. In 2022, Lindor had a 116 first half wRC+, and a 138 wRC+ in the second half. Hopefully Lindor's bat will heat up soon and help the Mets get closer to .500 to give some hope for a late season run.
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