Francisco Lindor never had his chance to say goodbye to the fans of Cleveland.
The Mets shortstop, who rose to star status as a member of the Guardians organization, spent his final season with the club in an eerily quiet Progressive Field in 2020. The COVID-shortened campaign cost him an opportunity to play in front of the Guardians faithful one last time.
Lindor was traded to the Mets, along with Carlos Carrasco, in a January 2021 deal that sent away Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez and prospects Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene.
“I would have loved to have my last year in Cleveland with fans,” Lindor said. “I didn’t get that.”
Now, more than three seasons since the trade, Lindor will have his homecoming in Cleveland. Major League Baseball’s shift from an unbalanced to balanced schedule in 2023 meant that Lindor has played just one series against the Guardians in the previous three seasons since he was traded.
The Mets’ three-game series with the Guardians, which begins on Monday night, will be Lindor’s first trip back to his roots in MLB.
I’m looking forward to two things: the atmosphere, which is lovely, extremely awesome, people are great,” Lindor said. “And also, playing great baseball over there. They’re playing very well right now, so I’m looking forward to that.
“There’s not gonna be that many people that I know that I played with, but I know there’s clubbies and a couple of players that I played with. I’m excited to see them.”
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