Mets' Francisco Lindor beat out by Atlanta's Orlando Arcia as NL All-Star shortstop
Francisco Lindor of the Mets looks on during the sixth inning against the Brewers at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Mets lost another head-to-head matchup with Atlanta on Thursday, but at least this time it didn’t impact the standings.
Orlando Arcia beat Francisco Lindor in the final round of fan voting to be named the starting shortstop for the National League All-Star team, MLB announced. Lindor was the Mets’ only finalist for the top nods.
In the 72-hour second phase, Arcia (named on 69% of ballots) more than doubled up Lindor (31%).
Lindor, however, is among the handful of Mets who still might earn the All-Star honor. Reserves and pitchers will be announced Sunday evening.
At the top of that list: Pete Alonso, who entered play Thursday second in the league in homers (24) and third in RBIs (55) despite missing 10 days on the injured list. He said recently he’d like to participate in the Home Run Derby again if he indeed is an All-Star.
Others who merit consideration, in the eyes of manager Buck Showalter, include Lindor, who despite some lackluster offensive numbers leads all major-league shortstops with 16 homers and 54 RBIs. And he is third among NL shortstops with 2.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs.
Showalter also mentioned reliever David Robertson, who has a 1.59 ERA and 11 saves as the Mets’ primary closer in Edwin Diaz’s absence, and rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez.
MLB revealed the first Met to be named an All-Star earlier Thursday: Dustin Clarke, their so-called performance coach, who will oversee strength and conditioning for the NL squad.
Clarke is in his ninth season with the Mets (and 13th in the organization).
“He’s another guy behind the scenes (who) we all lean on,” Showalter said. “He tells us what’s going on with guys — starters, relievers, position players. Gives you some heads up on stuff people are feeling but don’t’ feel comfortable talking about. Dustin is one of the best in the game.”
Pitching plans
The Mets intend to keep their rotation in order for their weekend series against the Giants: Carlos Carrasco on Friday, Justin Verlander on Saturday, David Peterson on Sunday. Showalter spoke highly of Peterson, who earned another outing by tossing six scoreless innings against the Brewers in his return to the majors Tuesday.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.