Mets’ Francisco Lindor deserves MVP, a rival says
The National League MVP race seems to be down to two, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
If left to Diamondbacks infielder Luis Guillorme, who played alongside Lindor for three seasons (2021-2023), there’s no question as to who should get the NL’s most prestigious award.
“On the offensive side, it’s shown that when he goes, that team goes,” Guillorme said, via Baseball Isn’t Boring on X/Twitter. “It’s not a knock on (Shohei) Ohtani, but Lindor is out there playing defense every day.
Shohei, at least this year, he can’t pitch so it’s a little different. Lindor is doing it on both sides of the ball, and that’s just a little more impressive right there.”
Lindor would have earned the MVP award if the season ended today, according to FanGraphs where he edges out Ohtani 6.5 to 6.3 in fWAR. While Ohtani is far superior at the plate — he could reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases this season — he’s a DH and doesn’t play the field, where Lindor excels with the third-highest outs above average (14) in MLB.
The 30-year-old switch-hitter is also having an impressive offensive season despite struggling in the first month of the season. In 131 games, Lindor is batting .269 with a .826 OPS, his highest OPS as a Met.
He’s on pace for another 30-30 season as he currently has 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases.
Subtract the months of March and April, and he’s batting .289 with a .879 OPS, including 22 home runs, 67 RBIs and 21 stolen bases since May.
The closest Lindor has come to an MVP award was in 2017 when he placed fifth in the voting with the then-Indians. That season, he batted .273 with a .842 OPS, including 33 home runs and 15 stolen bases.
