Why Francisco Lindor can't afford his usual April struggles in 2025
Getting off a fast start will be key to the shortstop and the Mets enjoying the kind of success they want in 2025...
What’s up with the Mets? 🌴
The Mets piled on 13 hits in a 10-3 win over the Nationals on Thursday evening (box)
RHP Kodai Senga authored a bounce-back start, walking two but not allowing a hit in 3.2 innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts
RHP Max Kranick was dominant in relief once again, pitching two scoreless innings with one hit allowed, no walks and two strikeouts
LHP Daniel Juarez also threw a scoreless inning, while RHP José Buttó gave up three hits and one earned run in one inning of work
RHP Tyler Zuber, another body battling for a bullpen spot, allowed a run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts across the final two innings of the game
The Mets trailed 1-0 but scored three runs in the second, two in the third, and five in the fourth to blow the game wide open
INF Luisangel Acuña went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and one run scored, getting the Mets on the board and giving them the lead in the second
C Luis Torrens showed his offensive capabilities with an RBI triple in the top of the third. He finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored
CF Jose Siri finished 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored, while while 2B Brett Baty hit a double to go along with a walk, a run scored and one RBI
DH Jesse Winker was back in the lineup after suffering calf camps, going 0-for-2 with a run scored and a walk
Senga and LHP David Peterson will stay behind to pitch in minor league games on Tuesday / Wednesday when the Mets head to Houston on Monday. Peterson and Senga will start against the Marlins on March 31 and April 1, in that order
Roster Moves 🗞️
Signed SS Diego A. Castillo to a minor league contract
Injury Updates 🏥
LHP AJ Minter (recovery from hip surgery) will be tested by pitching two games in three days this weekend - if he is ok, he will be on the opening day roster
Stories from Port St. Lucie… 📰
With Opening Day now less than a week away, final roster projections are coming in thick and fast (The Athletic)
Ever wanted to dive into the mind of president of baseball operations David Stearns and learn how he became so dangerous? Now is your chance (The Athletic)
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has been impressed with Kodai Senga’s work ethic as the starter aims to rebound in a big way in 2025 (SNY)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (11-13) vs. Cardinals (ss) (11-12)
Where: Clover Park - Port St. Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Clay Holmes (1-1, 1.29 ERA) vs. RHP Michael McGreevy (0-0, 1.54 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM ET
Where to Watch: SNY
Francisco Lindor - and the Mets - can’t afford another traditional slow start in 2025… ✍️
Let’s take a walk down memory lane on this early Friday morning.
Last year, in the early throes of the 2024 season, Francisco Lindor was engulfed in an all-time slump.
Now, it has become almost a tradition for Lindor to look lost at the plate in April and May, before turning things around and morphing into the elite shortstop that he is.
However, last year’s early-season slump was particularly alarming because of just how pronounced the struggles really were. All of Lindor’s metrics were down, nothing seemed to work for him at the plate, and he was hitting just .197/.273/.355.
Of course, we all know how the 2024 season ended. Lindor emerged as a real leader in that clubhouse after pulling the team together, resulting in an all-time run that culminated in a stunning and improbable run to the NLCS. As for Lindor, he eventually got the train back on the tracks and authored an all-time MVP season, finishing the season hitting .273/.344/.500/.844 with 39 doubles, 33 home runs, 56 walks, and 91 RBIs.
The reason I’ve decided to start today’s editorial with a history lesson will become crystal clear in a minute. Well, at least I hope that’s the case anyway.
We are all well aware that the Mets have skyscraper-high expectations for the 2025 season. They will step out on the field on Opening Day in Houston as legitimate World Series contenders. That’s just what happens when you get to within a couple of games of reaching the World Series before going out and signing a superstar to a record-breaking contract.
However, there are some serious concerns hovering over this team. Will the starting rotation hold up? Will injuries continue to bite? Is Edwin Diaz’s drop in velocity this spring something to be worried about? Can Pete Alonso put together a comeback season? Will the young hitters be able to step up and help this team?
They are all real questions that will need legitimate answers over the course of the next several months.
But, of all the things the Mets will need to break their way in 2025 in order to reach the World Series, getting high-end production right out of the gate from their elite shortstop may be the most important one. And it is also the one not getting talked about nearly enough, in my opinion.
Granted, you can make a compelling argument that it is foolish to worry about Lindor stinking for the first couple of months of the season given that he always finishes incredibly strong. True. But, my counter-argument to that is just imagine where the Mets could have been last year were it not for that awful start to the season. They seemed dead and buried at the end of May, and Lindor’s inability to hit anything in April and May was a big part of that.
If the Mets want to compete for a championship and go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers this year, they will need every advantage they can get. That will include securing a 1 or 2 seed in order to secure a bye. Finishing the regular season with a higher win percentage would help to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs and that could be crucial, especially when facing the Dodgers.
In order to collect those kinds of advantages and little wins, a fast start will be required. The Mets can’t afford to be digging themselves out of a gargantuan hole again. And, in order for this team to come out of the gates flying, Lindor will need to get off to a hot start from the leadoff role.
Because if the four-time All-Star gets off to yet another typical slow start, that only increases the pressure on the rest of the lineup to perform. That will increase the spotlight tenfold on Juan Soto to deliver. That will mean there is even more onus on Pete Alonso to mash and mash often early on. It will mean that everyone else in the lineup won’t be able to afford a slow start or early-season slump of their own.
Lindor has emerged as the de facto leader of this franchise, both on and off the field. Therefore, he needs to lead by example in 2025 and figure out a way to prevent looking so lost at the plate for the opening months of the season. His resounding success as a leadoff hitter helped spark last year’s turnaround, and now those results at the plate need to be there from day one.
Of course, this spring has hardly done anything to encourage the train of thought that this year will be different. Lindor is currently hitting just .195/.283/.244/.527 with no home runs, three RBIs, and six strikeouts in 41 at-bats. Granted, you shouldn’t overreact to anything this time of year.
However, going into the regular season without any kind of momentum offensively is hardly conducive to getting off to a productive start once the games start to count. All we can do is hope that Lindor is doing what he can to get locked in and avoid the type of timing issues that cause his entire game to fall off a cliff.
Putting everything on one man’s shoulders seems a lot, and that’s not what I’m trying to do here. But it is apparent that a better start to the season from Lindor would give the Mets the best possible chance of building an impressive foundation on which to build the rest away, while also keeping pace with the new evil empire that is LA.
Another 1-for-31 start to the season just can’t happen this time around.
Lindor needs to play well from the outset in 2025. For his sake, and for the bigger picture of what the Mets want to accomplish this year.
Around the League 🚩
Former Yankee outfielder Alex Verdugo signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Braves (Jon Heyman)
Catcher Jose Trevino and the Reds came to agreement on a three-year, $15 million contract extension with a club option (Jon Heyman)
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro expressed confidence that the team will re-sign star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (MLB.com)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. finished with a home run, a double, five RBIs and one run scored as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 9-7
Totally agree — a better start than usual will go a long way for him and the team.
Point taken. Great player. He authored a "all-time MVP year" in 2024? Can't swallow that.