NY Mets shouldn’t have any regrets about trading 2 Francisco Lindor backup options

Spring training isn’t the time for regrets. Save it for when you actually experience the issues. Two of the biggest New York Mets trades this offseason might’ve been helpful today as each deleted an experienced shortstop from the organization. The unknown at the moment with Francisco Lindor might have an insecure voice in David Stearns’ head questioning things at a low volume.

First there was the trade for Luis Robert Jr. which subtracted Luisangel Acuna from the roster. Necessary in a world where you believe Lindor and Marcus Semien play almost everyday, how can you not like the trade when Acuna hasn’t hit much at all in the majors and would rarely replace anyone defensively?

Second, there was the bigger punch of adding Freddy Peralta to the rotation. This stole Jett Williams from the farm system. Less likely to ever make the Mets out of camp if not improbable, the top shortstop prospect the Mets had heading into 2026 is no longer a candidate to sneak onto the Opening Day roster. The Mets are left with a whole bunch of fringe major leaguers, last-second position changes, and a hope Lindor can heal quickly enough to never familiarize himself with the IL.

If this was a known issue with Francisco Lindor earlier, would either trade have gone down differently?

With Acuna, you can have a little bit of a debate. He was the guy who replaced Lindor at shortstop in 2024 when his back was making him feel 40. He was already on the major league roster. Subtracting him seemed more of an attempt for the Mets to create space for others. They simply didn’t have the same use for him or belief he’d be a top player anytime soon, if at all.

Williams didn’t even seem like he’d sniff the majors for at least a couple of months. Even though he has about as much Triple-A experience as Carson Benge, there was no conversation about him being an Opening Day candidate in center field before Robert arrived. No amount of injuries probably keeps Williams with the Mets organization. They needed the ace they’re hoping Peralta can be.

What about if this was known ahead of time if the package for Robert looked a little different? No one should be sold that the Mets are completely satisfied with Mark Vientos around. He seems to be more of a guy the Mets couldn’t trade away or at least didn’t have interest in headlining a package for Robert. Vientos is a more accomplished hitter in the majors. While he has questions, a bad year out of him feels light years more productive than what Acuna has shown.

Shortstop is a strange position for the Mets with their entire infield having experience at the spot. Lindor, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, and Jorge Polanco have all played it regularly in their career. The latter three had some horrific years there thus the position changes.

The Mets still have Ronny Mauricio available for those spot starts. Frankly, there shouldn’t be anyone they consider unless Bichette moves off of third base. You’re not going to win more games with the minor league depth pieces added this offseason than you potentially can with Mauricio.

We won’t know for a good while how close Lindor is to actually being Opening Day-ready. One thing we can stick a flag in is that they shouldn’t fret over the two trades they made which eliminated the immediate backup plans. In an absolute worst-case defensive alignment, the Mets have Bichette at shortstop, Vientos at third base, and Brett Baty in right field. We’ve seen uglier.

Nothing indicates Lindor will miss more than a few weeks to begin the year. You don't your team's history for a temporary backup plan.