Francisco Lindor responds to Jason Kipnis saying Mets lack leadership; Kipnis apologizes

Francisco Lindor laughed when asked about former teammate Jason Kipnis' comments that the New York Mets have "no leadership."

"I haven't talked to him," the New York Mets shortstop, 29, told reporters Friday ahead of the Mets' win over his former team, the Cleveland Guardians. "That's how he feels and it is what it is. Yeah, that's all, I don't really have much to say."

Kipnis, who played with the four-time All-Star for five seasons in Cleveland before spending the last year of his career with the Chicago Cubs, recently appeared on the "Foul Territory" podcast where he discussed why the Mets have a 23-23 record despite a roster full of talent. Last season, they lost to the San Diego Padres in the wild card round, their first postseason appearance since 2016.

"All those veterans with no leadership," he said.

When the hosts asked if he meant to include two-time Gold Glove winner Lindor in his statement, Kipnis, 36, didn't name names, but reiterated his point.

"I'm gonna repeat it again, all those veterans and no leadership," he said. "If everybody's a veteran there, you're kind of just under the assumption that everybody's taking care of their business and going about the things the right way. But you kind of need someone to be those bumper pins, kind of, on each side where if people start getting out of line a little bit, it just, it helps keep people in order on track and focused on the same thing. Everybody gets a little comfortable 'cause there's all veterans and you don't really have to worry about what you're doing 'cause it's like you can do no wrong."

Francisco Lindor's wife joins conversation over Mets leadership

Lindor's wife, Katia, reposted the shortsop's response on Twitter, saying with a shrug emoji, "My husband is such a classy person, would never say what a bully Kipnis was in the clubhouse. Sounds like a true leader versus the opposite of a leader."

On the active roster, the Mets have three players under the age of 24, all who made their MLB debuts last season: 21-year-old Francisco Álvarez, 23-year-old Brett Baty and 23-year-old Mark Vientos. But the roster skews older with the likes of veterans Justin Verlander, 40; David Robertson, 38; Max Scherzer, 38; Carlos Carrasco, 36; and Starling Marte, 34.

Jason Kipnis apologizes for showing negativity toward Francisco Lindor

After Lindor's response, Kipnis sought an end to the conversation.

"Not trying to go at anybody with the video yesterday.. they were asking what the locker room looked like so we speculated..cause that’s all we can do!" he said in a string of Twitter posts. "We don’t actually know what’s goin on there cause we’re not there! Not trying to be that old head guy so I’ll choose wiser words ...

"Said what I said, we’ll move on cause I don’t have the energy nor the want to for Twitter back n forths! -Also Frankie wasn’t expected to be a leader when he was so young. I bet he’s grown into a damn good one. We’re just talkin about (expletive) cause they’re not winning like they can."

As he responded to various criticisms of his statement, he also took time to address Katia's assessment that he was a "bully" and ultimately apologize for the escalation of the conversation.

"I’m not so sure about bully but I said it earlier and I’ll say it again. Terrible take on my end and I was wrong," he said. "Should be proud of the man he’s grown into and nothing but love for the Lindor family. Can admit when I (expletive) up. Sorry it even got to here."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Francisco Lindor responds to Jason Kipnis saying Mets lack leadership