Figuring out where Francisco Lindor fits in the lineup when he returns
Plus, Freddy Peralta was bombed in a joke of a loss to the Phillies on Saturday
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets got embarrassed on Saturday, dropping a drubbing from the Phillies 15-3 (box)
RHP Freddy Peralta had arguably the worst start of his career, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits (including two homers in the same inning, both to Kyle Schwarber) and 80 pitches in less than three innings of work; he now owns a 4.83 ERA on the season
The Mets didn’t have much of a response at the plate, as NL Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sánchez twirled the pill for the Phils. They mustered just three runs on eight hits, striking out eight times while walking once. They also went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position
Mark Vientos was the Mets’ best hitter yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a homer off Sánchez in the top of the fourth to put the Mets on the board and Carson Benge also got in on the action with a two-run homer in the seventh
Short aside, the bullpen didn’t do much to mop up Peralta’s mess, with Cionel Pérez and Tobias Myers allowing another five runs over their 4.1 innings
Injury Updates 🩺
SS Francisco Lindor (calf strain) will make his next rehab start at Triple-A Syracuse today and will be further evaluated from there
OF Tyrone Taylor (right hip flexor strain) will also make a rehab appearance for Syracuse today, but the exact length of his planned rehab stint is unknown
SS Ronny Mauricio (fractured left thumb) will also make a rehab appearance with Syracuse today
RHP Christian Scott (right hip impingement) is scheduled for a multi-inning live BP session early this week; he should be activated soon after he’s eligible to return on June 27
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Juan Soto is hitting .330/.430/.661 with 11 homers, 24 RBI, 19 walks, 13 strikeouts, and five steals over his last 30 games
Bo Bichette is hitting .397/.394/.651 with three homers, five doubles, 11 runs scored, and 14 RBI in his last 15 games; he’s had nine multi-hit games
Mark Vientos is hitting .333/.350/.667 with two homers and six RBI (and five strikeouts) in his last seven games
Who’s Cold? 🥶
Cionel Pérez has allowed six runs on 12 hits (including three homers) over his last nine-plus innings of work
Luis Torrens is hitting just .160/.192/.160 in his last seven games
Play of the Game 😵💫
Following Peralta’s third-inning departure, lefty Cionel Pérez was called upon to face the top of the Phillies’ order with runners on first and second.
On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Pérez sent a 2-1 sinker right through the heart of the zone, which Schwarber promptly feasted on for his second homer of the inning.
The three-run shot put Philadelphia up 11-0 in the third inning.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Andrew recapped the series in Cincy, assessed the team’s constant ‘in-stasis’ status, and previewed the current Phillies series.
PLUS — Don’t forget to submit your questions for the next Just Mets Mailbag!
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
C Ben Rortvedt (Triple-A): 2-for-2, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB
DH Kevin Parada (Triple-A): 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI
SS Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB
LF Jaylen Palmer (Double-A): 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Kevin Villavicencio (Double-A): 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
1B Nick Lorusso (Double-A): 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU (PPD) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (34-42) at Phillies (41-35)
Where: Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Starters: LHP David Peterson (3-5, 5.91 ERA) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.01 ERA)
When: 7:20 PM EDT
Where to Watch: NBC/Peacock
Where should the Mets bat Francisco Lindor when he’s back in action? ✍️
With Francisco Lindor set to make a rehab appearance for the Syracuse Mets today, there are hopes that the All-Star shortstop could be back in the big league lineup before the month is out. Though some Mets have been hitting more consistently than others, the team has yet to hit its stride as a fully synced unit, and that disconnect continues to demonstrate itself in the weekly win-loss results.
It goes without saying that this lineup will benefit from any infusion of star power it can get, and Lindor should (hopefully) provide a tangible boost to this team’s bottom line pretty quickly. So, naturally, as his return inches closer, one particular question has started growing louder by the day: where should Lindor slot into the lineup when he returns?
The gut reaction would be just to slot him back into the leadoff spot, and that makes sense on its face: a return to normalcy, one of the team’s best bats getting the most ABs, etc. Over the course of his career, Lindor has hit just shy of .280 with a 122 wRC+ in nearly 3,000 plate appearances out of the top spot. To say he’s experienced in that slot would be quite the understatement.
And yet, I’m not so sure this equation has such an easy answer.
For one thing, look how well Carson Benge has been hitting out of the leadoff spot. In 179 plate appearances over 39 games at the top of the order, he’s hitting .283 with four homers, five stolen bases, a .759 OPS, and a 115 wRC+ — that’s plenty sufficient to kick off your lineup each day. There’s also something to be said for maintaining whatever offensive rhythm exists, sputtery as it may be. Bo Bichette and Juan Soto are hitting very well; there’s no reason to disrupt that tandem, and I don’t foresee that happening anytime soon.
With a combination of production and youth at the top of the lineup and a functional duo immediately behind him, I started thinking…why not slot Lindor into the cleanup spot?
It’s not like this is some foreign concept for Lindor and the Mets: he’s hit fourth plenty since coming to New York. Sure, it’s a fraction of the time he’s logged at the top of the lineup, but his sample size in that four-hole is large enough that we can get an idea of how he’d perform there over continued at-bats. It’s a fairly compelling vision.
In 113 career plate appearances batting cleanup, Lindor has slashed .293/.407/.489 (.896 OPS) with five homers, three doubles, 20 runs scored, 16 RBI, 15 K-18 BB, and a 144 wRC+. Again, that sample is obviously a pittance compared to the thousands of times he’s stepped into the box, hitting first through third in the order. But these numbers aren’t anything to scoff at: production is production.
Still, it should also be noted that Lindor has not been an effective leadoff hitter this season in the short time he was on the field: in 87 plate appearances (not too dissimilar from his cleanup sample), he hit .184 with a homer, a double, two triples (very anomalous), and 16 strikeouts against 10 walks, good for a 69 wRC+ at the top of the order. He also only stole two bases, so whatever on-base value he was providing still wasn’t leading to many scoring opportunities.
Who knows — perhaps the time has come to hand over the leadoff reins to the rookie permanently.
There’s the game strategy side to hitting Lindor in the middle of the lineup to consider, too. On a base level, you really aren’t losing anything from a run-creation-potential standpoint; if anything, they’d be gaining potential scoring opportunities. Though he’s been a bit less of an OBP machine recently, Benge has had no problem getting on base over his last 30 games, and with both Bichette and Soto hitting the way they are, it’s not like there’s a need for Lindor to lead off so that a run-scoring opportunity has a better chance of being created. Instead, he could now hit behind three capable hitters, with two of the three a virtual lock to reach base and give Lindor a chance to drive them in.
If you want to talk platoon flexibility, injecting a switch-hitter into the middle of the lineup helps in that department as well. Yes, losing the guaranteed optimal handedness matchup to open each game isn’t ideal in theory…but if a guy’s hitting less than .200 with a matchup advantage, what are you really losing? Plus, not only does having someone who can attack from either side of the plate immediately neutralize any early-order platoon advantage for starters, but it also affords some more room to get creative with late-game pinch-hitter handedness stacking against relievers who suffer from poor platoon splits of their own. In that sense, it’s a bit like a cheat code (provided they actually hit, of course.)
And as far as Lindor’s health and any load management goes, hitting cleanup feels ideal for that as well. If the team wants Lindor on his feet as much as possible without putting him through too many paces at the outset, sliding him down to the four-hole would allow him to get into a rhythm with sufficient ABs without him having to carry the ‘set-the-tone’ pressure and plate-appearance load immediately upon returning to action for the first time in months.
Now, do I think the Mets will actually do this? No, not really — I assume they’ll put Lindor right back at the top of the lineup. I wouldn’t blame them if they did, especially if he expresses a desire to return to that spot.
But if all options are on the table, I can’t see how it can hurt them to try something semi-new in the interest of reinvigorating the lineup while maintaining what’s been working as much as possible.
Around the League 🚩
The Pirates and Rockies played a crazy game on Saturday, one that started with an inside-the-park homer from Jake McCarthy to lead off the bottom of the first and ended on a runner’s interference call; the Rox won 2-1 (MLB.com)
Guardians rookie Travis Bazzana led the way in an 8-1 rout of the Astros with the best game of his young career, literally. He went 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI, all career-bests
Down 5-0 heading into the seventh inning, the Blue Jays scored eight unanswered runs led by Daulton Varsho and Kazuma Okamoto (3 RBI apiece) to come back and beat the Cubs, 8-6
Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers was dominant against the Dodgers, delivering seven innings of one-hit shutout ball; Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman almost spoiled it with some late scoring, but Baltimore held on to win 3-2