The New York Mets started the 2025 season with a 16-7 record. That might not come as a shock to the fanbase. However, what is a surprise is that outfielder Juan Soto has struggled out of the gates. It has even been one of the main talking points from fans and local media despite all the team’s wins.
The Mets lead the National League East division, and they have the same number of wins as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Other players on New York’s roster have been living up to expectations. In fact, one Met is so hot that he is firmly in the conversation regarding the NL MVP Award after just a couple of weeks of the new season.
Francisco Lindor, Not Juan Soto, Playing Like an MVP
It is not a surprise that shortstop Francisco Lindor is already in National League MVP talks. He was the best player on the team in the 2024 season, and he has been the best performer on the team so far in 2025. In the 5-4 win for the Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21, he went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs.
Philadelphia fans remember the Grand Slam he hit in Game 4 of the 2024 NLDS that secured a Mets clinching victory (and ended the Phillies season). In 22 games to start the 2025, Lindor has a .284 batting average with five home runs and 13 RBIs, along with two stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .340.
Coming into tonight, Francisco Lindor was hitting 0.379/0.438/0.793 with 4 home runs in his last 7 games. He's already 2-3 tonight #LGMpic.twitter.com/TNyy3tXnhn
— Covering All the Bases (@CoveringBases_) April 23, 2025
While Lindor has been underappreciated around the league during his tenure in Queens, Mark DeRosa of MLB Network is making sure people are noticing him.
“He’d be your leading [NL MVP] vote getter, the way I see it,” DeRosa said on MLB Network.
It is not even 30 games into the MLB season, but it is good to see the national media recognizing what Lindor is doing for the Mets.
If New York wins the National League East, there is a great chance that Lindor could be the MVP over Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. What’s interesting about Lindor’s MVP case is that he has been better from the start this year for the Mets compared to outfielder Juan Soto.
Soto signed a 15-year $765 million deal in the offseason. He has not lived up to the expectations in the first month of the season like Lindor has.
Lindor has never won an MVP Award before in his career. That said, he has earned a plethora of accolades. He was a four-time All-Star with Cleveland from 2016 to 2019.
He was traded from Cleveland to New York before the 2021 MLB season, and later signed a 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets. If he keeps this production up, Lindor is a solid bet to be named the starting shortstop on the National League All-Star roster this summer. Even more, he will no doubt be entrenched in MVP talks if he continues to lead the Mets to wins.