Abbey Mastracco: Francisco Lindor homers in Mets win over Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Nearly two years ago, Francisco Lindor stood on the same field where he played Sunday with a group of trainers begging them to let him play on an injured back. The New York Mets were in the mix for a wild-card playoff spot, but far from locking it up, and Lindor was trying to convince the Mets’ medical staff that he could play through the pain.

Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, Lindor went 3 for 3 with a home run, three RBI and two walks to lead the Mets to a 6-1 win over the Phillies. It mattered little in the playoff standings this time since the Mets are 16 games under .500 (42-58) and heading toward a summer selloff at the trade deadline, but in a season full of losses, a series win is a welcome reprieve.

The hero role is one Lindor has played many times throughout his tenure in New York, yet with the way many Mets fans have come to regard him this season, you’d think the shortstop had been as much of a bust as Lastings Milledge, not a perennial MVP candidate. It’s true he hasn’t looked like himself this season, but between talk radio and social media, a group of extra vocal fans has convinced themselves that the Mets would be better off without Lindor.

They seem to think they can bully the team into trading him. The Wilpons might have been in the comment sections, but Steve Cohen and David Stearns are on the other end of the spectrum. Fans couldn’t bully Stearns into keeping Pete Alonso around, so why would he be inclined to listen to fans about Lindor?

The notion that he’s a clubhouse cancer is patently false. It’s accurate to say Lindor and Juan Soto famously did not get along last season, their first season playing on the same team, and they still aren’t exactly best friends; it’s also accurate to say they have a mutual respect for one another based on what they can do on the baseball field.

It’s a strange dynamic in the clubhouse this season with so many new faces and new coaches. There was too much change in too small of an amount of time, and without familiar voices like Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, everything fell on Soto and Lindor, who were both injured early.

Soto doesn’t want to be the guy that everyone goes to when things go wrong. Maybe Lindor doesn’t want to either, but it’s something he took on naturally when he signed his 10-year, $341 million contract extension.

Players on long-term megadeals are typically looked at as leaders, but not everyone is David Wright. It’s a tough role in a large market, and an even tougher role in New York.

The 32-year-old has been battling injuries since last season and his metrics have started to decline. He made three errors in three straight games coming into Sunday, and hasn’t been as productive at the plate. While his expedient return to action after those injuries was commendable, the Mets are wondering if a lack of rehab took its toll. He didn’t have a normal offseason or spring training, and he didn’t play any minor-league rehab games after his early-season calf injury.

They also believe the old Lindor is still in there.

He looked more like his old self Sunday when he hit a two-run shot off right-hander Alan Rangel in the first inning, then put a 2-1 curveball in play with the bases loaded and one out to drive in another run. The top of the lineup got on base, and down toward the bottom, Luis Torrens helped turn over the lineup by going 2 for 2 in the No. 9 spot.

Nolan McLean shut the Phillies (55-45) out over six innings for the win (7-6).

But the biggest win could be a return to form for Lindor. He put the team on his injured back and carried them to the postseason two years ago. Ahead of the trade deadline, Lindor deserves the benefit of the doubt from fans and from the front office.

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