Francisco Lindor was a steadying presence for the Mets last year despite all the volatility around him. The team did miss the playoffs, but it was through no fault of his own. He reached the 30/30 milestone and finished the year hitting .267/.346/.466 with 31 home runs, 117 runs, 86 RBI, and 31 stolen bases. He was named an All-Star for the first time with the Mets and, all told, he was almost a 6 win player -5.9 bWAR- for the 2025 ball club. He had an outstanding OPS+ of 129 and the combination
of Lindor and Soto at the top of the lineup became a formidable duo for opposing pitchers.
Both the beauty and the frustration of Lindor is how he goes, the Mets go. In wins last season he hit .333/.402/.598 with an eye-popping OPS of .999. Twenty-two of his 31 home runs came in wins as did the majority of his RBIs and runs scored. In losses he hit just .196/.285//.325 with an OPS of .610. He scored only 35 runs in losses as opposed to 82 in wins and drove in only 19 of his 86 RBIs in their defeats. These statistics show just how valuable Lindor is to the team, but also highlight the need for someone to step up when he does struggle. Juan Soto can be that person but the offense cannot come from just two people, especially after the departures of Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Pete Alonso.
Lindor’s consistency at the top of the lineup perhaps was taken for granted since he led the majors in plate appearances and led the National League in at-bats. His bat seldomly came out of the lineup despite breaking his pinky toe in June after getting hit by a pitch against the Dodgers. He also underwent minor right elbow debridement surgery in the offseason but he is expected to be ready for spring training.
With the departures of the previous core group of players, this is now Francisco Lindor’s team to lead. Both he and Soto will form the new core that David Stearns must build around. Whether that is this season or in the coming years still remains to be seen, but what is known is that Lindor will again a stabilizing presence despite all the turnover around him.
