Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor returned to Cleveland Monday for the first time since the ballclub traded him to the Mets before the 2021 season. He was greeted with a mostly warm ovation from the fans in attendance.
There were certainly some scattered boos in there, but it was mostly a positive reaction — as well it should’ve been.
Lindor would go 0 for 4 while the Guardians won the game, 3-1.
As we all recall, Lindor started his career with Cleveland. He had been chosen eighth overall in the 2011 draft and then was ranked as a top-five prospect by the time he debuted in 2015. He spent the first six years of his career there, making four All-Star teams, finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting three times, winning two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.
Simply, he became one of the best players in baseball with Cleveland and was wildly popular with the local fans. He was a year away from free agency and the front office decided to trade him instead of seeing if ownership would pony up the required contract to extend him. He was traded with Carlos Carrasco for Andrés Giménez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf. The Mets then signed Lindor to a 10-year, $341 million extension.
Heading into Monday, Lindor is having a slow start to the 2024 season, slashing .197/.273/.355 (84 OPS+) with eight doubles, seven homers, 22 RBI, 28 runs, six steals and 0.6 WAR. He racked up 6.0 WAR last season, however, finishing ninth in NL MVP voting.
