Checking in on the Andrés Giménez-Francisco Lindor comparison

Since the comparisons are inevitable, let’s check in on the 2022 numbers between Guardians infielder Andrés Giménez and Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Even though Andrés Giménez isn’t currently the everyday shortstop, much to the chagrin of Guardians fans everywhere, he’ll forever be tied to Cleveland’s previous starting shortstop, Francisco Lindor.

Giménez, of course, was a key part of the trade package with the Mets that sent Lindor to New York, and the 23-year-old is currently enjoying a breakout season. After a clutch, tenth-inning double that helped the Guardians beat the Twins Saturday night, Giménez is now hitting .326/.344/.562 with four home runs, five doubles, two triples, 20 RBIs and a 165 wRC+ in 93 plate appearances.

Now, because they’ll always be connected and we’ll all always be comparing the two, let’s take a look at Francisco Lindor, who is trying to rebound from a disappointing 2021 season, his first with the Mets. In 154 plate appearances so far this season, Lindor is batting .231/.312/.388 with five home runs, six doubles, 21 RBIs and a 107 wRC+.

Though he continues to walk at a healthy clip of 9.1%, Lindor is currently striking out at the highest rate of his career, at 18.8%. His .252 BABIP and a .255 xBA doesn’t suggest all that much bad luck, either. And since 2020, his last season with Cleveland, Lindor has sported a 104 wRC+ in 822 at-bats, which is above league average, but far below the expectations for a player making $34 million a year.

Lindor’s slash line since 2020 now looks like this: .238/.324/.409 with 33 home runs, 35 doubles, 111 RBIs, and a 102 OPS+.

To be fair, in the case of Giménez, his .385 BABIP suggests an unsustainable clip but the Guardians will certainly take an xBA of .295 should that regression inevitably occur. Giménez has managed to reduce his strikeouts so far this season to a shade under 23%, though he walks less than ever at just 3.2%. That being said, the name of Giménez’s game is to make contact and he’s doing it to great effect, seemingly taking the offensive leap that once made him such a highly-touted prospect in the Mets’ system.

One might say Lindor is too good a player to struggle much longer at the plate, but a large-enough sample size is starting to emerge that suggests the Mets can’t expect him to hit 40 doubles and 30+ home runs every year like he did from 2017 to 2019 in Cleveland. Ultimately, Lindor is probably going to run into a few more seasons of 30 homers and 30 doubles, but it might no longer be the norm.

Given that he’s just 23, Giménez has so much development ahead of him. Nobody is saying the Guardians wouldn’t want Lindor’s bat in their lineup, but at what he’s making salary-wise, Cleveland has to be glad they have seemingly been able to take advantage of a tough situation.

As the Guardians continue to forge ahead with their youth movement, and the Mets set their sights on the World Series, this comparison will no doubt continue to be an intriguing one to watch.