Yankees sportscaster gives reasons for believing Francisco Lindor will outperform Juan Soto in 2025

There was seemingly a lot of pressure on Francisco Lindor last season as he helped the New York Mets turn around their season and make it to the National League Championship Series. A lot of that pressure might be taken off his shoulders this season as he will have Juan Soto alongside him. Soto's arrival is expected to help his individual game as well.

Lindor is on a 10-year $341 million contract with the New York Mets. At 31, he is the de facto captain of the roster. His MVP-caliber performance in 2024 was nothing short of spectacular. He hit 91 RBIs and 33 home runs at a pace of .273 by the end of the regular season after a relatively slow start.

With Soto now in the lineup, Yankees insider Emmanuel Berbari stated on SNY on Wednesday that Lindor will have a better season than his new teammate. In his opinion, Lindor had been playing under a lot of individual limelight in the last few years which will now be focused on Juan Soto because of his mammoth $765 million, 15-year contract.

"I think he's gonna have a lot better season than Juan Soto. There's evidence here, too. Lindor's first season with the Mets, he came in, struggled mightily, his buddy Javi Baez comes in, Lindor gets more comfortable and he relaxes [in the] final couple of months of the season, .800 OPS, and he plays them like a 40 Homer pace.

"Last year, Jose Iglesias comes in May 31, loosens up the locker room, Lindor was struggling mightily, but there's not the same attention on Lindor as a leader. Now, he's a captain type guy, but I don't miss that guy who loves the spotlight, so once Lindor had some pressure taken off of him, rest of the season, he plays like an MVP .935 OPS and plays at a 40 home run pace. So there's evidence here. Now, Juan Soto is the alpha in the room. Lindor doesn't have to worry about all that stuff," Berbari said.

Lindor finished the season ranked second in the National League MVP race to Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani. As a shortstop, he also put in strong defensive shifts and earned himself a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 7.0 (per ESPN).

---

Francisco Lindor aiming for a better start to the season

In the last two years, Lindor has found it tough to get off the blocks quickly at the beginning of the season. Two years ago, his average in April was .221 while last year it fell further to .210. The Mets slugger said he was looking to turn that around this year.

“I just gotta play well in April,” Lindor said this week to the NY Post. “I gotta play well in April. That’s it.”

Because of his uneven splits in the initial months and the latter half of the season, Lindor hasn't been convincing enough to earn an All-Star cap in any of the four years with the Mets so far. He will look to change that in 2025.