Nationals: Comparing Francisco Lindor and Trea Turner, by the numbers

Francisco Lindor is a perennial All-Star who now joins Trea Turner as the top shortstops in the National League East.

When the New York Mets acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians they brought one of the best shortstops in all of baseball to the National League East. Without question, Lindor may be the better all around player at the position based on past results. However, with the offensive surge Trea Turner had in 2020, though, it is worth looking a little closer at their numbers.

Lindor has more accolades when based on individual achievement. He has been selected to four All-Star games, has two Silver Slugger Awards, and has been awarded the Gold Glove twice. Turner has none of the above, although he does have a World Series ring on his finger, which Lindor does not.

Both players have played in parts of six years for their respective teams, though injuries have limited the number of games Turner has been able to compete in.

While Lindor has nearly twelve hundred more plate appearances for his career, their averages are remarkably close.

For his career Lindor is slashing .285/.346/.488 while Turner’s numbers are .296/.353/.480. Lindor has generated a career WAR of 28.7 while Turner’s mark is 16.6, in 236 fewer games.

On the base paths Turner has 171 career stolen bases with a success rate of 83%. Lindor has swiped 99 bags at a 79% clip.

In 2020 Lindor had a career lows in batting average (.254) and OPS (.750), while Turner hit .335 and established a career high in OPS at .982. This doesn’t mean Lindor is trending down, though we fully believe these numbers to mean Trea Turner is trending up.

While both players have had quality run producers around them in the lineup, Lindor has driven in a lot of runs hitting from the leadoff spot in the order. While the Indians used him in the two spot early in his career, the Mets may choose to do the same with him in 2021. The same question has been asked about Turner. Is he better for the team as the leadoff hitter of hitting in the two-slot?

These two have comparable numbers across the board, with Lindor having better totals for his career because of more games played. While Turner doesn’t get the praise or have the hardware Lindor does, he is just as competitive of player.

We’ll pay close attention to their respective performances this year. These two will be under the microscope even more now that they are in the same division.