Francisco Lindor vs. Andres Gimenez: New Mets-Guardians rivalry no one expected

When the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians agreed to swap middle infielders Francisco Lindor and Andres Gimenez, among other pieces back in the winter of 2020, it seemed clear what was happening.

Once again, a small market team decided it could no longer afford to keep its homegrown superstar, and thus traded him to an emerging powerhouse. What may surprise you, though, is just how much things can change in a matter of time.

To refresh your memory, let’s disclose the full details of the trade.

If you factor in that the Mets extended Lindor for 10 years at $341 million later that offseason, combined with a few years of team control on Carrasco, it seemed like New York did pretty well to acquire their new superstar, while leaving the Guardians with intriguing, but lesser talent.

Now? This trade has become much more interesting all around.

Francisco Lindor vs. Andres Gimenez has now become a new and interesting Mets-Guardians rivalry

With the news that the Cleveland Guardians would be extending Andres Gimenez for seven years at $106.5 million, the race is officially on to see which of these two teams made the better investment on their respective middle infielders.

Looking solely at stats, irrespective of position, you’ll notice that Gimenez had a higher bWAR in 2022 (7.4) than Lindor (5.5). Gimenez also surpassed Lindor in OPS (.837 to .788) OPS+ (141 to 125) and in slugging (.466 to .449). Both players received MVP votes, but only Gimenez was an All-Star.

On defense, both are stellar, though it’s worth noting Gimenez won a Gold Glove at second base, while Lindor did not at shortstop.

Based on these stats and recognitions, we can draw the conclusion that Gimenez was better than Lindor all-around in 2022. However, Lindor has something important that Gimenez doesn’t have: a track record.

It remains to be seen if Gimenez can replicate anywhere near his 2022 level of production on a consistent basis going forward. We know Lindor is a superstar in his own right, and a perfect fit for the Mets’ culture. But if Gimenez continues to ascend as an All-Star talent for the Guardians, as his new extension seems to indicate he can, this storyline just got a lot more interesting to monitor.