ESPN writer explains struggles of Mets' Francisco Lindor

One individual believes the offensive struggles of New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor this spring are easily explainable. 

"He's selling out for power," ESPN MLB senior writer David Schoenfield wrote about Lindor for a piece published Monday. "More strikeouts, more fly balls, low batting average on balls in play. His strikeout rate, while still below league average, is 10 percentage points higher than in his early seasons with [the Cleveland Guardians.]" 

Schoenfield noted that Lindor, who earned four All-Star nods with Cleveland from 2016 through 2019, possessed a career .816 OPS heading into the 2023 season but began Monday with a .711 mark for that category on the current campaign. According to ESPN stats, Lindor and teammate Brandon Nimmo ended this past weekend among players tied with the 34th most strikeouts (64) for the season. Lindor is batting just .216 but contributed 12 home runs and 43 RBI across the campaign's first 66 games. 

Just last week, Mets manager Buck Showalter suggested that Lindor's participation in the World Baseball Classic contributed to his lackluster offensive MLB numbers through the second Monday of June. It's worth noting that the 29-year-old was emotionally impacted by Mets closer and Puerto Rico teammate Edwin Diaz suffering a right patellar tendon tear while celebrating a victory during the March tournament. 

Lindor certainly isn't the only reason the fourth-place Mets finished the weekend at 31-35 and trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves by nine-and-a-half games in the National League East standings. Per ESPN, the Mets started Monday's action ranked 21st among all MLB clubs with a .240 team batting average and 18th with a club OPS of .715. In short, such production is not good enough for baseball's most expensive roster.

Schoenfield insisted Lindor is among big-name players who "will hit better" as the season progresses. With slugger Pete Alonso possibly sidelined through at least the rest of June due to a bone bruise and sprained left wrist, the Mets may need Lindor to start focusing on simply reaching first base safely beginning when the Amazins host the New York Yankees (38-29) on Tuesday night.