Mets Manager Buck Showalter on Slumping Francisco Lindor: ‘He’ll Figure it out’
NEW YORK -- Francisco Lindor initially got off to a much-needed fast start in his second season as a Met - but he has since fell into a slump that has spanned nearly a month.
On Tuesday evening, the shortstop missed a crucial opportunity to help his team fight back in an attempt to pull off a doubleheader sweep of the Cardinals. With the Mets trailing by a run with two outs, Lindor struck out swinging with the tying run in scoring position against Cardinals hard-throwing closer Giovanny Gallegos to end the game in a 4-3 nightcap loss of a twin bill with St. Louis.
“It’s tough to say,” Lindor said — after a long pause - when asked how he’s currently feeling compared to his hot start to the year. “I just struck out to finish the game. If you asked me after the first game it would’ve been a different answer.”
“I should’ve put the ball in play,” he added.
Through the first 17 games of the season, Lindor was slashing .313/.408/.563. But since April 25, his numbers have been on a downward spiral. Following the Mets' latest game, Lindor holds a triple slash of .228/.315/.393 with a .708 OPS, six home runs and 22 RBIs. He is just 9-for-60 (.150) in the month of May.
The 28-year-old carries a ton of weight on his shoulders given he signed a massive 10-year, $341 million extension with the Mets on the eve of the 2021 season after being traded to New York earlier that winter. His first season as a Met was a major disappointment, as he batted .230 with an OPS of .734, 20 home runs and 63 RBIs, while missing five weeks with an oblique strain. Although he finished the year off on a high-note, crushing nine homers, producing 25 RBIs and recording a .933 OPS in the month of September, his final statistics weren’t good enough for a player that was brought in to be a superstar.
The same can be said when evaluating Lindor’s first 38 games of the 2022 season. But there’s a lot of season left, and he still has plenty of time to right the ship. Last year, Lindor endured a brutal month of April and May, before hitting closer to his career norms from June 1 on.
“I’m doing whatever it takes,” Lindor said. “Just keep on grinding and leave the rest to God. I can only control what I do in my process.”
After the game, Manager Buck Showalter acknowledged Lindor’s rough stretch - and he isn’t concerned about the shortstop’s slump.
“He’s not at the level he spoiled us with for a while,” Showalter said of Lindor. “That’s really hard to do, but I don’t worry about him."
"He’s playing a good shortstop; he's engaged in every game, every inning. I’m real happy with him. Gallegos is good. When a guys throws 100 mph there’s less margin for error. We had our chances we just didn’t cash in.”
Showalter expressed confidence that Lindor will come around at the plate, despite the rut he's in.
“He’s going to be a solid contributor for us all year long," Showalter said. "He's playing the heck out of shortstop, great effort. I love the way he brings it every day. He's a baseball player."
“What may not be happening perfectly statistically, he’ll figure it out,” he added.
The Mets are hoping Lindor figures things out soon, and starts performing like the superstar shortstop they acquired from Cleveland in January of 2021. They’ve seen glimpses of it earlier in the season, as well as down the stretch of last season. But right now, his current slump is only increasing the significant weight on his shoulders. And if the Mets’ offense is going to reach its potential this year, Lindor needs to be the big bat they expect him to be.
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