Where NY Mets star Francisco Lindor ranks among shortstops all-time in MLB history

When he first signed with the New York Mets in 2021, Lindor's gargantuan ten-year contract was one of the largest ever signed. This was the result of several things falling into place at just the right time: he had just spent six outstanding years with Cleveland, was still 27 years old, and the move to acquire and subsequently extend him was the first big move of the Cohen era.

To some, his six seasons as a Met have been disappointing, largely due to a lack of broader team success, but his numbers suggest that he's just as good, if not better, than he was in Cleveland. In the final few days of the regular season, Lindor surpassed the 300 home run milestone which sparked an interesting question — given his current body of work, where does he rank all-time among shortstops?

After 12 major leagues seasons, Francisco Lindor ranks #15 all-time among shortstops

By fWAR, Lindor (31.8) is already the fourth-best position player in Mets history and could surpass José Reyes (33.1) and Darryl Strawberry (35.5) as soon as next year. When broadening the comparison to all shortstops in history, he falls to 16th, comfortably behind all-time greats like Honus Wagner (138.1) and Cal Ripken Jr. (92.5). However, he is one of just two shortstops to have 300+ home runs and 200+ stolen bases, the other being Alex Rodriguez. Furthermore, many of the players above him on the list played in the much earlier days of the sport. For example, both Bill Dahlen and George Davis debuted in the 1890s.

In addition to having a career wRC+ of 120, his defensive contributions have also been consistently good over the years. He has two Gold Gloves, a Platinum Glove, and 47 Defensive Runs Saved, tenth among shortstops. Because DRS is a relatively new metric, it obviously omits the likes of Luke Appling and Arky Vaughan but it's a good indicator that Lindor is no slouch when it comes to run prevention.

Based on data like career numbers, time spent at shortstop, and the era in which each player competed, it makes sense for the list of top shortstops in baseball history to look something like this:

1. Honus Wagner
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Cal Ripken Jr.
4. Derek Jeter
5. George Davis
6. Luke Appling
7. Bill Dahlen
8. Ozzie Smith
9. Arky Vaughan
10. Barry Larkin
11. Robin Yount
12. Lou Boudreau
13. Joe Cronin
14. Alan Trammell
15. Francisco Lindor
16. Ernie Banks

As things stand, it's safe to say that at the very least, Lindor belongs in the Top 20 of all-time shortstops. Furthermore, he'll be just 33 years old by the time next season rolls around and although 2026 was a down year by his standards, his second-half resurgence should assuage some concerns about his abilities to keep performing.

Even as his pace slows over the final six years of his contract with the Mets, it's reasonable to say that by the time he hangs up the cleats, he could be sitting just outside the Top 5. Assuming he accumulates an additional 18.0 fWAR over the next six years, a reasonable expectation of 3.0 per season, it would rank him right below George Davis and above Bill Dahlen at fifth among shortstops.

Lindor's contributions often fall by the wayside and even some of his biggest moments for the Mets have quickly become forgotten. But when looking at his career in aggregate, it's difficult to ignore the career he has managed to put together. He currently has the fifth-most career fWAR of any active position player, is on pace for a Hall of Fame nomination, and should depart the game of baseball not just as one of the best shortstops of his era, but as one of the best of any.

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