When the New York Mets made a deal to acquire Francisco Lindor, it was supposed to be the start of a new era for the team. After all, Steve Cohen had just taken over the organization and there was a big splash upon arrival.
Lindor had even signed a titanic contract before the start of the 2021 season which would bring him $341 million over 10 years.
However, the first season of Frankie in the Big Apple was not obvious. It’s been a terrible first few weeks on the field and bickering with Jeff McNeil (rat or raccoon?) and fans (thumbs down) has only added fuel to the fire.
However, things straightened out for him at the end of the season, and with his still consistent defensive play, we can expect him to have a good 2022 season.
And according to FanGraphs, Lindor is in good shape for 2022 to be a better year for him than 2021 has been.
Here are Francisco Lindor’s projected numbers for 2022, per @fangraphs.
How do they look? ???? https://t.co/hKjTE6QEF6 pic.twitter.com/JTgzqsxYrN
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 19, 2022
When we look at those numbers, we notice that it’s a season a bit below his standards when he was in Cleveland, but it would still be a marked improvement if we compare them to those he maintained in 2021. A rather drastic improvement, even.
With the departure of his friend Javier Baez, Lindor will have to work twice as hard to be the leader of this team. Yes, guys like Pete Alonso, Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil will have to do their part, but it’s Lindor who has the big contract and needs to lift this batting lineup.
Because with the rotation of the team which will obviously not be a problem, the question marks come especially at the level of the attack.
So we’ll see what 2022 has in store for Lindor and his Mets, but we can expect an improvement. And with the Atlanta Braves still expected to be strong (if Freddie Freeman returns), the Mets will have to work hard to win the division.
