Francisco Lindor compares 2024 Mets to 2023 Rangers: 'It's not about the expectations outside'
In 2022, the Mets entered the season with World Series expectations. They won 101 games and might have made a deep playoff run if not for a late-season injury to Starling Marte and a few clunkers by Max Scherzer.
The Mets again entered the 2023 season with championship expectations. This time, instead of Scherzer and Jacob deGrom atop the rotation. It was Scherzer and Justin Verlander. But things went haywire, and the team waved the white flag at the trade deadline.
In 2024, the Mets are entering the season with lower expectations than they had in 2022 and 2023. But there are two important things to point out.
1. The expectations for the 2024 Mets being "low" is an external narrative. Yes, their ceiling might not be as high as the 2022 team that was great or the 2023 team that was not, but the projection systems and the internal expectations are that they'll be a playoff contender.
2. Francisco Lindor doesn't care about outside expectations.
"It don't matter," Lindor told reporters on Thursday morning at spring training. "Nobody was expecting the Diamondbacks, but I'm sure they were. Probably not too many people were expecting the Rangers, either. But I'm sure they were, as well.
"Every team is gonna be in the same boat. It's not about the expectations outside. It's what you believe and what you think you can do."
Asked what the strength of the 2024 Mets is, Lindor flashed a wry smile.
"The unknown," he said. "The unknown of what we can do. So, we'll see."
The two teams Lindor referred to above of course met in the 2023 World Series.
The Diamondbacks eked into the playoffs after winning 84 games, got hot, and finally ran out of gas in the Fall Classic.
The Rangers, despite tons of injuries to their starting rotation, increased their win total from 68 in 2022 to 90 in 2023 and won their first World Series in franchise history.
Can the Mets do something similar?
"We all know we can do it. We all know we can go out there and play the game the right way and win ball games," Lindor said. "It ultimately comes down to -- everybody in the big leagues can play the game. It's who can play it better, who can play the game the right way day in and day out, who can be more consistent.
"At the end of the day, it's just a chance of being in October. Once you're in October, anything can happen."
Lindor added: "I don't see myself as an underdog. I don't. Whatever people have in their minds, I have my own expectations for myself and for the team."
As far as the Mets' offseason moves, Lindor said he liked them. And he also hinted that there could be more to come before Opening Day.
"I feel Stearns did a really good job," Lindor said. "They had a plan, an approach, and they executed. I feel like there's still, I think, a couple of pieces, from what I keep on hearing from Stearns -- from what he's said in the media a couple of times that there might be one or two things (left). But, yeah, I feel like we're in a good spot."
