New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is in the middle of a rough slump as we speak.
Before the start of Friday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, the talented infielder is 1-for-24 on the young season.
If you are wondering why the Mets have won just one game this year and lost five, well, take a look at the stats of players like Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil.
They are too talented to keep struggling forever, but right now, they are really having a bad time at the plate.
The Mets, therefore, are trying anything they can think of to get him going.
Many managers would lower a struggling hitter in the lineup.
First-year skipper Carlos Mendoza, however, is adopting a different approach.
“Francisco Lindor is batting leadoff tonight for just the 5th time in his Mets career and the first time since 2021,” SNY Mets tweeted.
Francisco Lindor is batting leadoff tonight for just the 5th time in his Mets career and the first time since 2021 pic.twitter.com/bJfwa0yWSI
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 5, 2024
In the six games the Mets played before Friday, Mendoza wrote down Lindor’s name in the second spot of the lineup.
As opposed to saying “well, you aren’t performing, so we will lower you in the batting order,” he is basically telling him, “I trust you, and I will double down on that trust and put you down for the leadoff spot.”
It’s certainly an interesting strategy, but it does give the player confidence.
Time will tell if the approach works for Lindor, who has a .276/.341/.515 line and a .855 OPS hitting leadoff in his career.
As the numbers suggest, he has fared extremely well from the first spot of the order.
Maybe the Mets can hit the jackpot here.
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