Was Mets Leader Giving Rookie a Wake-Up Call?

Did New York Mets veteran Francisco Lindor just give rookie infielder Luisangel Acuña a wake-up call? 

In a Sunday article for MLB.com on the potential for Acuña to make the opening day roster for the Mets, Anthony DiComo included a few interesting comments from Lindor. Discussing the disconnect between Acuña’s scintillating September offensively at the big league level and the rather pedestrian numbers he has posted pretty much everywhere else in the Mets system, Lindor suggested that Acuña just might need the big stage of the MLB stadium to get the juices flowing. 

“I think he plays bored in Spring Training,” Lindor said. “If the lights come on, then he’s good. [Last year in the Minors], he was bored, probably. He doesn’t get amped up for it.” 

Francisco Lindor Wonders if Luisangel Acuña is ‘Bored in Spring Training’

GettyNew York Mets rookie Luisangel Acuna provided an offensive spark in September while playing for the injured Francisco Lindor.

In nearly 600 plate appearances at Triple-A Syracuse last year, Acuña slashed just .258/.299/.355, with an OPS of .654, and again in spring training, the OPS sits at .540. However, when Acuña was called up while Lindor nursed an injury during the Mets’ playoff push last September, he posted a .966 OPS with three home runs in 39 at-bats, compared to the seven he hit for Syracuse. 

“It’s rare when you see elite big leaguers or good big leaguers dominate the Minor Leagues,” Lindor said. “They just get bored. And then they eventually figure it out and say, ‘I guess I’ve got to do a little bit more to get called up,’ and then they get called up. It wakes them up.” 

One might think Acuña could take something favorable from that comment, comparing him to “elite big leaguers.” But Tyler Ward of the WardyNYM podcast felt there was a message for Acuña behind the comments, particularly highlighting Lindor’s reference to Acuña acting “like he don’t care.” 

“And when you act like you don’t care, yeah, you’re bored,” Lindor continued. “He’s not putting everything he’s got into it. … It doesn’t feel like he’s being challenged.” 

Perhaps, Ward surmised, Acuña was being challenged by one of the team’s leaders. 

“I think that’s not a shot, but rather a direct message to Luisangel Acuña that, this is how things need to be in order for you to be a lock [to make the roster,] and to be a consistent player here,” Ward said. “These are the things you’re going to have to do.” 

Mets Reported Pursuit for Right-Handed Bat Could Bump Luisangel Acuña to Minors

GettyNew York Mets second baseman Luisangel Acuna could be sent back to Triple-A Syracuse after spring training.

That, Ward added, could also help explain a report on Monday afternoon from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who indicated that the Mets have delayed an announcement about the opening day roster partly due to their ongoing search for a right-handed infielder, “which almost certainly would lead to Luisangel Acuña being sent to Triple-A.” 

Ward said such a move could mean the Mets are concerned about Acuña’s continuing development both physically and mentally. 

“To have those direct, rather blunt remarks from Lindor, speaking on Acuña, it makes you wonder about, really, the comfortability level that the Mets have with Acuña and the Mets organization to begin the year on the roster,” he said. 

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