New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is making a compelling case to disrupt the NL MVP bid of the favorite, Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani.
Named NL Player of the Week on Monday, Lindor is surging at the right time. He now leads Ohtani in fWAR at 6.5 to 6.3, a stat that highlights Lindor’s superior defensive value, a critical edge in a race in which every facet of the game matters.
“[Lindor] needs to be in the conversation,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently said of the MVP race, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon. “He’s right there with anybody in the league. I know there are some other guys who are having a really good year. But he’s right there with them.”
Ohtani remains the favorite, with DraftKings placing him at -1400 and Lindor at +550. The odds are long for Lindor, but his overall brilliance gives him a fighting chance to win the award.
A crucial part of Lindor’s success this season is his durability. Through Monday’s play, he has appeared in every game this season, starting all but one. His consistent presence on the field, combined with his elite performance, makes him indispensable to the Mets.
While Ohtani is primarily a designated hitter this season, Lindor has been a defensive anchor at shortstop, contributing at the plate and in the field.
No primary designated hitter has won the MVP since the position was created in 1973. Ohtani won AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, but those seasons featured his dominance as a hitter and pitcher.
This season, however, Ohtani is limited to hitting, albeit at an extraordinary level, because of a September 2023 surgery on his throwing elbow. He could become the first player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases, but he hasn’t played an inning in the field.
By contrast, Lindor has a Baseball Reference dWAR of 1.0, with his Fielding Run Value (Statcast’s overall metric for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance onto a run-based scale) ranking in the 97th percentile.
Statcast also shows Lindor near the top in most important defensive categories, with only seven players in the league having a better Fielding Run Value this season.
While Ohtani dazzles with his bat, Lindor’s offensive and defensive impact on the game cannot be ignored. For Lindor, this matters. His value isn’t just in his offense but in how he plays shortstop with elite precision, taxing his body every day to keep the Mets in contention.
Lindor’s September performance will be crucial for the Mets (68-63), who are battling to earn a wild-card berth. Per FanGraphs, New York has a 16.6% chance to make the playoffs.
Should Lindor deliver in key series against the Phillies, Braves and Brewers, MVP voters must take note of his immense value.
If Lindor continues his torrid pace and leads New York to the postseason, he could become the first Met to win MVP. It would be an honor he richly deserves.