Mets’ Francisco Lindor, Carlos Mendoza have different ideas on workload management

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Francisco Lindor is the Mets’ aspirational ironman, a superstar shortstop with an intense desire to play every day, through slumps, pain and sleep deprivation.

Carlos Mendoza is the Mets’ no-longer-a-rookie manager, a guy tasked with guiding the roster through a successful but healthy season, so that players can keep playing their best when it means the most.

Heading into 2025 — Lindor’s first on the wrong side of age 30, and his first after encountering a back issue last fall — they will have to talk about what being an everyday player means, Mendoza said.

It might not be so literal a term.

“As I’m sitting here, I don’t want to say much, because I haven’t talked to him about it. But we have some ideas,” Mendoza said Saturday. “We know how important he is for this team, for this lineup. After what he went through at the end of the year with his back, he’s never going to [want to] come out of the game or get an off day.

“But it’s a conversation that I’ll have with him. It’ll be an ongoing conversation. I don’t think this is just a one-time thing. But he’ll understand. But it’s not just Lindor, it’s everyone. We gotta keep these guys healthy.”

Asked about potentially pulling back on a full 162-game slate, Lindor reiterated his usual sentiments, including that his “goal is to be available as many times as I can.”

“MLB does a fantastic job with putting days off on the calendar,” he cracked.

Lindor still is the Mets’ best all-around player and leadoff hitter; any talk of workload management surely would be on the margins. One or two days off per month would put him in the 150-something range.

The thought process, though, is that by resting more often, Lindor or any player can compete at something closer to full strength the rest of the time. The negative impact of his absence for a game (or most of a game) would be more than made up by stronger play the rest of the time.

“Post up, day in and day out. If I feel good, I’m going to play. I take a lot of pride in posting up and being available for the team and for the guys,” Lindor said. “And it’s not just 162. It’s also the playoffs. Because that last month, no matter if you play 150 or you play 160, we all feel the same. Everybody feels the same. August hits the same for everybody. It’s just: who can grind through those months is usually the one who comes out on top.”

Mendoza said: “I want to get his take. I want to see what he’s got in mind. He’s super smart and he’s got a plan. He’s so detail-oriented. He wants to know the numbers, he wants to see how his back is responding. There’s a lot there. But he’ll be smart. I’ll trust him. It’ll be an ongoing thing.”

Does Lindor feel the physical toll of a six-month [or seven-month] season more now than when he was younger?

“I don’t even remember five years ago,” Lindor said. “Everybody keeps on telling me: ‘I can’t wait till your 30, I can’t wait till your 35.’ Well, I’m 31 now. You prepare. You work as hard as you can. And you try to find a way to recover and you try to find a way to go out there and get it done.”

The good news on the physical front: Lindor’s back is a total non-issue heading into the new season, he and Mendoza said.

“So far so good, thank god,” Lindor said. “I can carry my two daughters and go out and play and everything. So I feel fantastic.”

Lindor finished last year batting .273 with a .344 OPB and .500 slugging percentage — his highest such mark since 2019 (when he most recently was an All-Star). He totaled 33 home runs, 29 stolen bases and 91 RBIs. Altogether, it was one of the finest offensive campaigns in Mets history.

He finished second in National League MVP voting, joining Tom Seaver (1969), Keith Hernandez (1984) and Darryl Strawberry (1988) as Mets to rank that high. If not for Shohei Ohtani’s historic 50-homer, 50-steal season for the Dodgers, he may well have won the award.

“To be considered for something like that, it’s special and something that I don’t take for granted,” Lindor said.

After the Mets lost in the NL Championship Series to the Dodgers, he resumed baseball activity earlier than normal in advance of spring training.

“The older you get,” he said, “you take more time off and it gets tougher to get back into the rhythm.”