Which Mets, if any, will be able to step up in the absence of their MVP, Francisco Lindor?
Francisco Lindor #12 of the Mets looks on during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Monday, Sep. 16, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The only thing we truly learned Monday about Francisco Lindor’s worrisome back condition is that the MRI, according to the shortstop himself, showed no structural damage.
The most critical question — just how long Lindor will be out — remains unanswered, other than his insistence that he’ll definitely play again before the end of the regular season, perhaps on the earlier side, maybe even later this week.
“Really good news,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Because we didn’t know what was going to happen. I was expecting the worst, to be honest.”
While it’s true the Mets seemingly avoided disaster with the prognosis for Lindor — who poses the only legit threat to the once-untouchable Shohei Ohtani for National League MVP honors — another inning without him in the lineup is one too many at this stage of the season.
So just as we figured, Lindor’s absence nearly proved fatal Monday night for the Mets. They needed Jose Iglesias’ tying two-out RBI infield single in the eighth inning — off the pitcher’s glove — followed by Starling Marte’s walk-off RBI single in the 10th to escape with a 2-1 victory over the Nationals before a surprisingly small crowd of 21,694 at Citi Field.
“I do the best I can, every single night, for this great team that we have,” said Iglesias, who fittingly played the Lindor role as the starting shortstop, hitting leadoff. “I miss him over there, but he’ll be back soon.”
The Mets had six hits Monday night and the only one for extra bases was a double by Tyrone Taylor that set up Iglesias’ tying hit in the eighth.
The win again moved the Mets one game ahead of Atlanta for the NL’s third wild card. Just as important, they did it on a night with Lindor in recovery mode and now are a day closer to his return.
“I should be back,” Lindor said. “If it turns the corner quick, I could be back pretty soon. If not, then it would be a little longer.”
This isn’t April, July or even early September anymore, when Mendoza can preach the next-man-up mantra and stopgap solutions can present themselves. The Mets leaned on Lindor for 5 1⁄2 months and all 147 games before he suddenly pulled up lame over the weekend in Philadelphia. Monday’s win was a relief, but it doesn’t seem sustainable as long as Lindor remains on the shelf.
Lindor’s whole case for the MVP was the fact that the Mets wouldn’t be anywhere near the postseason hunt without him. The offensive impact from the leadoff spot, the Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop, the knack for the clutch play, the clubhouse leadership. Everything but his de facto captaincy is gone now, and whom can the Mets turn to now to pick up that slack?
The obvious candidates have shown no inclination to do so, and they didn’t really show up Monday night, either.
In the past month, there’s Lindor’s 1.012 OPS and Jesse Winker’s .805, followed by a sub-.800 supporting cast, with Pete Alonso (.783) and Mark Vientos (.767) at the head of the class.
Alonso figured to be the one to ride shotgun with Lindor this season, especially in a walk year for his first crack at free agency, but he’s probably cost himself up to $100 million on his next contract with a 32-homer, 81-RBI campaign.
Alonso has the power to carry the Mets for a few weeks, and it’s not too late to get some of those free-agent bucks back — especially with a big October. But he isn’t the only one who should be feeling the pressure to cover for Lindor’s absence.
Brandon Nimmo hasn’t put up the numbers of a $162 million centerfielder this season, and he’s batting .217 with a .635 OPS during the past month.
What about J.D. Martinez? He’s hitting .173 with a .595 OPS during that same stretch.
Francisco Alvarez, the kid slugger, has had two big ninth-inning swings since mid-August, one a walk-off homer to beat the Orioles and another blast to secure last Wednesday’s dramatic comeback victory over the Blue Jays.
In between those two games, he was hitting .143 (7-for-49) with 18 strikeouts and a .379 OPS (although he did follow that up by homering Friday in the Mets’ 11-3 blowout of the Phillies).
Even Mark Vientos, the one Met who was keeping pace with Lindor, has cooled off considerably, fading to a .767 OPS during the past month, but his 14 RBIs were second only to the shortstop’s 16 in that span.
Mendoza dropped him to sixth for Monday night’s game — the lowest he’s been since he batted seventh on Aug. 14 — but suggested it was only temporary.
The manager’s got to find an offensive configuration that works. That just got much harder minus Lindor, the Mets’ relentless engine, and he’s running out of time to do so. To put it bluntly, the Mets are looking for a few saviors right now.
“The good news is he’s going to be back,” Mendoza said. “But in the meantime, we can’t just sit here and wait until he gets back. We got to take care of business.”
That’s something the Mets never had to do this season. Until now, which is the worst possible time to find out if it’s possible or not.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
