Francisco Lindor has a case for MVP, but with Shohei Ohtani on pace for another historic campaign, does he have a chance to win it?
SS Francisco Lindor has been having an MVP type season for the New York Mets in 2024. He has been the leader the Mets traded for back in 2021, helping the club stay in the playoff race with his fantastic season. Despite not being voted into the All-Star Game, he is currently second in the NL MVP race behind DH Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whether he wins it or not, Lindor is in the midst of his best season with the Mets fans in his 4th season with the team. Can this amazing season earn him his first Most Valuable Player award?
A Rough Start in Queens for Lindor
The New York Mets acquired Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The trade saw the Mets send over 2B Andres Gimenez, SS Amed Rosario, and two prospects for Francisco Lindor and SP Carlos Carrasco. Lindor had already established himself in the league, being a four-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and three-time Silver Slugger winner. He had also received MVP votes four straight years in his five-year career up to that point.
This earned him a ten-year, $341 million dollar extension with the Mets before Opening Day. The star shortstop’s first year with the club was a close to a disaster, as he hit only 16 doubles with a .230 batting average and .734 OPS. The team collapsed in August and fell out of the playoff race, ending his first disappointing season in Queens.
Mr. Smile is Back
The next two seasons were a different story for the switch-hitting slugger. In 2022, he hit 26 home runs and drove in 107 RBIs while raising his average to .270. This helped him to a 125 OPS+ and a top-10 finish in MVP voting. Meanwhile, the Mets won over 100 games but lost in the Wild Card round.
The 2023 season saw an even better version of Lindor. He hit 31 home runs and stole 31 bases while hitting .254 with an .806 OPS. That performance earned him another Silver Slugger, and he received MVP votes for the second consecutive season. But the Mets had a disappointing season that year, finishing 4th in the NL East standings, ultimately leading to the firing of their General Manager and Manager.
An MVP-Caliber Season for Lindor
Expectations were high for the now 30-year-old Shortstop in 2024. The season didn’t start off as planned, as Francisco finished April with a .197 BA and a .639 OPS. The Mets were off to a horrible start and fans were already writing off both the team’s season and Lindor’s 2024 campaign. Little did they know Frankie wouldn’t look back after that rough start, posting MVP numbers since. Currently, he is closing in on 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases with 40 doubles, as well a career best 135 OPS+. He has been amazing defensively, sitting in the 99th percentile in OAA, while leading the Mets to a spot in the Wild Card race.
The Most Valuable Player Award Race
Shohei Ohtani seems to have a case to win the MVP unanimously, posting 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases in 2024 entering Thursday. It’s fair to say if Shohei gets to 50 homers and 50 steals, the award is his to lose. The Dodgers star already has won it twice, with his offensive numbers this year on pace to be better than the years he previously won it.
What makes the MVP race interesting is that Ohtani has played all year as a DH, with zero innings played in the field. There has never been an MVP winner that has been primarily a designated hitter, except Ohtani. The Japanese phenom only won the award twice because he was pitching instead of fielding, which factored into his overall stats. If he were to win it this year, he would be the first exclusive designated hitter to ever win most valuable player.
The reason why a designated hitter has never won the award before is because they aren’t “the most valuable player”. It’s hard to make an argument for someone who doesn’t play defense to be the most valuable player on the field. Lindor has over 1000 innings logged at shortstop while playing at an elite level. The Mets SS currently has an outstanding 17 Outs Above Average, fourth best in MLB, while playing the most valuable position on the field. Despite the spectacular season Ohtani is having, Francisco’s defense is what makes this race interesting.
A Broadcaster’s Take
Geoff Magliocchetti of New York Mets on SI, wrote about how Mets broadcaster Ron Darling believes Francisco Lindor should be the MVP during a game. Darling stated, “He is everything you could ask for from a leadoff hitter,” Darling gushed. “His leadership, on and off the field, what he’s done to be a leader to [3B] Mark Vientos, how he’s gone to the mound on several occasions to change the tide of an inning…all of those things play into it…He plays every day, 162 games he’ll play at the end of the season. that’s (almost) 1,450 innings, and that is the difference maker when you’re talking about a DH as opposed to Lindor. Ohtani might not even be the most valuable player on his team on certain nights because [RF] Mookie Betts and [1B] Freddie Freeman are that good. Lindor is the difference-maker on this Mets team.”
When looking at those two, the race is going to come down to what the “most valuable player” means to the voters. It’s hard to say if recency bias will play a part in the process, as Ohtani has won the award two of the last three seasons, while finishing second once behind OF Aaron Judge’s historic 62 home run season. It’s hard to say whether Lindor has a realistic chance to win his first career MVP award. Regardless, it’s awesome to see Mr. Smile finally earn respect from Mets fans and see him discussed as one of the premier shortstops in the game again.
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