For the past week, the talk of New York has been that the Mets have been “super aggressive” in their attempt to land former New York Yankee and MLB’s top free agent Juan Soto in a Mets uniform by Opening Day 2025. It has been confirmed that Mets owner Steve Cohen has offered up almost $200 million to free agents and contract finalizations, creating the conditions to give Soto and his agent Scott Boras what he wants in order to bring him to Citi Field.
The question is how far will Cohen and Stearns go to get Soto? Rumor is that NL MVP finalist Francisco Lindor flew to Los Angeles on Sunday, just a few days after it was reported that Cohen, Soto and Boras are scheduled to have a meeting in L.A. about the 2025 season and beyond with the Mets.
See what Lindor has to say about the reason for his trip to L.A. and if he plans to meet with Cohen, Soto and Boras HERE
Lindor said that he wishes “nothing but the best” for the Yankees slugger and added, “I hope he makes the best decision for himself and his family.”
Lindor maybe the key in Soto’s final decision, being that he is being courted by several other organizations including the Dodgers, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Giants while even the Bombers have stated they’d love to have #22 baxck again next season.
It has been estimated that Soto’s final contract could range from $600-700 million over the next 12 to 14 years.
The Mets are remaining optimistic going into their seven-game homestead against the Phillies and the Nationals after a nail biting loss against Philadelphia during the same game that Francisco Lindor was taken out due to an ongoing back injury. According to Lindor himself, he might be on the bench for what “could be three to five days” at the most crucial point in the Mets’ season.
Even though the prognosis of the 30-year-old shortstop isn’t deemed “too serious”, Lindor underwent MRI imaging after being taken out of Sunday’s game to determine the damage done to his lower back. Even though the results show no structural damage to his back, Lindor was left out of Monday’s lineup against Washington, with second baseman Jose Iglesias moving over to shortstop and taking Lindor’s leadoff spot in the batting order.
“I still have a little bit of pain, but we had good news,” Lindor said. “Everything seems like it’s good, it could be three to five days, or it could be two to three — depends on how my back reacts.”
He added, “I felt fine, I felt good — it wasn’t like a freak accident where I reinjured it. It just got tight on me. I just felt like I could play through it. And the next thing you know, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to stay on the field. When I can’t stay on the field to do what I love most, which is play defense, that’s when I said something. When I was a little timid on the ground balls.”
Team doctors agree that Lindo doesn’t need an injection in his back, so Lindor is hoping to be back before the end of the regular season.
“Honestly, relief. Really good news,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “… I think we got the best news. Like [Lindor] said, it could be three to five [days], two to three, who knows? But the hope is that he’ll be a player for us before the year is over. So, I was expecting the worst to be honest.”
Recruited recently from Syracuse AAA-affiliate, Luisangel Acuna will be interchanging with Iglesias at shortstop until Lindor’s return. As Mets’ “ironman”, Lindor playing in all games of the regular season until today(September 16) has positively impacted the Mets’ chances at a Wild Card spot. With a three-game series ahead of New York vs. the Nationals followed by four games against Philly, the Mets’ postseason future will be determined this week at Citi Field.
Ever since the Baseball Writers Association of America started casting votes for the Kenesaw Landis AL/NL Most Valuable Player Awards in 1931, the same city has claimed the coveted titles only 12 times, with New York players taking it home over half of those occasions. In 2024, for the first time in almost 70 years, NYC could possibly gloat about having both of the best baseball players in Major League Baseball.
The Big Apple hasn’t welcomed both MVPs home since 1956 when Mickey Mantle won MVP for the AL and Dodgers’ Don Newcombe brought it back to Brooklyn. Only a year prior, Yanks HOF catcher Yogi Berra took the American League trophy. At the same time, Brooklyn’s Roy Campanella won the NL MVP in his last season before he was left paralyzed after a tragic car accident. In ’54, it was Yogi Berra again. Willie Mays (Giants), Berra and Campanella took their first MVPs twin titles in 1951, Joe DiMaggio and Dolph Camilli of the Dodgers won both MVPs a decade earlier(1941), while the Yankees legend Lou Gehrig and NY Giants’ Carl Hubbell were the first to bring both AL and NL Most Valuable Player titles back to NYC in 1936. Lindor and Judge may just have the magic to make it happen here once again.
No one can ignore the wave that the Mets have been riding, given their eight-game winning streak, which locked in their Wild Card spot and those feats would have been unattainable without superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and his red hot appearances at the plate. The 30-year-old belted nine of his 31 HRs of this season were in those last eight outings, including two in the same game against the Padres with one of those dingers being a grand slam. As the Mets’ ironman, Lindor has not missed a game this season and only missed three games since suffering an oblique injury during his rookie season in 2021. Sure to surpass 30 stolen bags before the end of September, there’s no question why Lindor is a close second in the NL MVP rankings., this year.
Bronx Bombers’ right fielder Aaron Judge has posted unequaled stats this season while helping the Yanks lead the helm in the AL East, including the most home runs in MLB(51), only to be trailed by the number one NL MVP contender, Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. #99 has the 3rd highest batting average in the league(.319), only behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., who have played more games and had more plate appearances than Judge in 2024. Judge also leads the league in RBIs(126), forcing teams to deliberately attempt to keep him from making contact with the ball, which is why he also leads the league in walks.
As with anything in baseball and life, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Many critics believe that Lindor batting under .300 is a no for an MVP. However, despite the entire baseball world watching Ohtani on his road to 50/50, Lindor’s only MVP competition still hasn’t broken the .300 mark either. Even Judge, with his phenomenal hitting feats, still ties Oakland’s Brent Rooker with the most Ks in the league(156). Additionally, Judge’s bat has been going cold lately, with no HRs in his last 13 games since the Home Run Derby, which has the Yankees’ record split 13-12 in their last 25 games.
The Empire State definitely represents in Major League Baseball, as both Players of the Week come from New York teams. The players who were voted as the best of the American and National Leagues should be no surprise to real baseball fans.
Aaron Judge and Francisco Lindor have been named as the American League and National League’s Players of the Week in the last full week of August, which leaves a little more than a month before the Pennant races begin in late September. Judge and the Yankees faced the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Colorado Rockies last week, while the Amazins took on the Orioles and the San Diego Padres. The Mets broke even in their series against San Diego, edging the Padres by one run in both wins, while the Bronx Bombers beat the Rockies 2-1 in their 3-game series and the same results against the O’s.
Individually, both Lindor and Judge have put up phenomenal stats that would easily put them in the MVP conversation of either league. The 6X All-Star maintained a whopping .381 BA this week, with seven homers and 11 RBIs. Mets’ superstar shortstop boasted a .345 batting average last week, with four doubles, 3 HRs, and six RBIs.
This week, the Mets have to take on the NL West’s second-place Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox, who currently have the worst win-loss record in MLB. The Bombers have a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, with the Yanks already ahead after yesterday’s 5-2 victory. This weekend, the Yankees begin their series against the NL Central’s third-place Cards.
