Francisco Miguel Lindor Serrano (born November 14, 1993), nicknamed "Mr. Smile", is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians. He is a right-handed thrower and switch hitter.
Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Lindor began playing baseball at an early age, and he moved with his family to Florida when he was 12. He became the Indians' first-round selection, and eighth overall, in the 2011 MLB draft. In the minor leagues, he participated in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game, and by 2013, was rated by Baseball America as the Indians' top overall prospect.
Lindor batted over .300 in both his first two major league seasons and provided elite defense. In 2016, he led the Indians to a World Series appearance and earned his first All-Star selection and Gold Glove Award, becoming the first Puerto Rican shortstop to win the Gold Glove Award. He placed second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 and won his first Silver Slugger Award in 2017. During the 2017 World Baseball Classic, playing for the Puerto Rico national baseball team, Lindor was named to the 2017 All-WBC Team. Lindor was traded to the Mets following the 2020 season and later signed a 10-year, $341 million extension with the team. In 2023, he joined the 30–30 club for the first time. Since 2016, Lindor has made the All-Star Game five times, won two Gold Gloves, and four Silver Slugger Awards.
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Early life
Lindor was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on November 14, 1993, the third of four children of Miguel Angel Lindor and Maria Serrano. He began playing baseball at a young age, assisted by his father, who would hit him ground balls from the top of a hill while the younger Lindor stood partway down the slope, attempting to field them. Lindor's favorite baseball players as a child were all middle infielders: Roberto Alomar, Omar Vizquel, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins and Barry Larkin.
Lindor moved to Central Florida at the age of 12, with his father, stepmother, and youngest sibling, and was enrolled at the Montverde Academy prep school. After he signed with the Cleveland Indians in August 2011, his mother and two older siblings joined him in Florida.
Professional career
Draft and early career
Lindor attended Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. The school's baseball facility was named after him in 2013. He was named to the USA Today All-USA high school baseball team. The Indians drafted Lindor in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2011 MLB draft. He had a full-ride scholarship offer in place with the Florida State Seminoles baseball team but chose to sign with the Indians for $2.9 million in August. In September, Lindor was drafted by the Indios de Mayagüez in the second round of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente's (LBPRC) first-year draft. However, he has been unable to play there due to Cleveland's intervention. On May 7, 2014, the Indios de Mayagüez traded Lindor's LBPRC player rights to the Gigantes de Carolina in exchange for Carlos Correa. However, only two weeks later the Cangrejeros de Santurce signed him by exploiting a legal loophole declaring that any player that has not been officially contracted within three years after being drafted is considered a free agent.
Minor leagues (2011–2015)
Lindor began his professional career with the Low-A New York–Penn League Mahoning Valley Scrappers during the 2011 season and appeared in four games. MLB.com rated Lindor as the 32nd best prospect in baseball before the 2012 season. He was assigned to the Lake County Captains of the Single-A Midwest League, and named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game. In 122 games for Lake County, Lindor had a .257 batting average with six home runs, 42 RBI, 33 extra-base hits and 27 stolen bases.
Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked him as the Indians top prospect. Lindor started the 2013 season with the Carolina Mudcats of the High-A Carolina League. He was promoted to the Akron Aeros of the Double-A Eastern League on July 15, 2013. Between the two affiliates, Lindor batted .303 with two home runs, 34 RBI, 31 extra-base hits, and 25 stolen bases in 104 games.
Lindor began the 2014 season with Akron. The Indians promoted Lindor to the Columbus Clippers of the Triple-A International League on July 21, 2014. In 126 games between the two clubs, he batted .276 with 11 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases. Lindor began the 2015 season with Columbus.
Cleveland Indians (2015–2020)
The Indians purchased Lindor's contract from Columbus on June 14, 2015, and added him to the active roster. In 59 games for Columbus prior to his promotion, he was batting .284 with two home runs and 22 RBIs. He made his debut with the Indians that day as a pinch hitter. He stayed in the game and recorded his first major league hit. Lindor won the American League Rookie of the Month Award for September, during which he batted .362. He finished the 2015 season with a .313 batting average, 12 home runs, 51 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 22 doubles in 99 games for the Indians. He placed second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting.
In 2016, Lindor finished the season with a .301 batting average, 15 home runs, 78 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 15 sacrifice flies (leading the majors), and 30 doubles in 158 games for the Indians. He was named a Gold Glove Award finalist at shortstop along with Jose Iglesias and Andrelton Simmons. In the 2016 MLB postseason, Lindor's seven multi-hit games broke the record for most ever for a player less than 23 years old. His 16 postseason hits are also the most hits by a batter since 1997, and he's the youngest Cleveland batter to have six World Series hits. Following the 2016 season, Lindor was presented with his first Gold Glove Award and first Platinum Glove Award. Lindor was the 2016 Esurance MLB/This Year in Baseball Award winner for Best Defensive Player. He finished ninth in the AL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) voting.
On April 5, 2017, Lindor hit his first career grand slam, doing so against the Texas Rangers, as the Indians won 9−6 and swept the season-opening series. On July 22, Lindor hit his first career walk-off home run in the 10th inning versus the Toronto Blue Jays for a 2−1 victory.
In Game 2 of the 2017 AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, Lindor became the third shortstop in major league history to hit a grand slam in the postseason.
In 159 games for Cleveland, Lindor batted .273 with 33 home runs and 89 RBIs. End of season awards for Lindor in 2017 included selection as shortstop on Baseball America's All-MLB Team, and his first career Silver Slugger Award at shortstop. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting, and was selected as the cover athlete of the video game R.B.I. Baseball 18.
New York Mets (2021–present)
On January 7, 2021, the Indians traded Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets for Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene.
On March 31, 2021, just hours before Lindor's deadline of Opening Day on April 1, the Mets and Lindor agreed to a 10-year, $341 million extension that would keep him with the team through 2031. Lindor struggled during the first half of the 2021 season and was booed by the Citi Field home crowd on multiple occasions. Lindor went 3-for-4 with two home runs off of Washington Nationals starter Joe Ross, accounting for all five RBIs in the Mets' 5–1 victory on June 19. In a Subway Series showdown on September 12, Lindor hit three home runs in the same game for the first time in his career. The boys of Puerto Rican podcast "Los Del Colegio Podcast" created the chant "Lindor es tu papá" which means "Lindor is your daddy", referring to an altercation with Giancarlo Stanton in that game. He finished the season batting .230/.322/.412 with 20 home runs, 10 stolen bases, and 63 RBI in 125 games played.
On May 31, 2022, Lindor was named National League Player of the Week. He drove in a run in every game during that week and slashed .348/.407/.870. It was his third time receiving that distinction in either league, and his first time with the Mets. He also notched the 500th RBI of his career on May 23, as he brought home two runs on a ground-rule double to lead the Mets to a 13–3 victory at Oracle Park. On August 14, Lindor recorded his 82nd RBI of the season, breaking José Reyes' Mets franchise record for the most RBIs recorded in a season by a shortstop, in a 6–0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. On September 15, Lindor hit his 24th home run of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates, setting a new Mets single season record for most home runs by a shortstop. He also recorded his 93rd and 94th RBIs of the season, a new career high. Lindor finished the 2022 season batting .270/.339/.449 with 26 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 107 RBI in 161 games played.
At the end of the season, Lindor was announced as the 2022 winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. On December 6, 2022, Lindor was named to the All-MLB Second Team.
On June 27, 2023, during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Lindor hit his 200th career home run, off of pitcher Julio Teherán. On July 6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lindor went 5-for-5 with two singles, two triples, and a home run with an RBI and three runs scored. He became the first shortstop in MLB history (and only the seventh player overall) to have a five-hit game that included two triples and at least one home run. Lindor is also the first player in Mets franchise history with two triples in the first three innings of a game. On September 27, Lindor hit three home runs in a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins, completing his first career 30–30 season. He became the fourth player in Mets history to accomplish the feat joining Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, and David Wright. Lindor finished the 2023 season batting .254/.336/.470 with 31 home runs, 31 stolen bases, and 98 RBI in 160 games played.
International career
World Junior Baseball Championship (United States)
In 2010, Lindor played for the 18U United States team in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They finished in fifth place despite only losing one game. Lindor was named to the All-IBAF Juniors Team in his position at shortstop.
2017 WBC
Lindor played for the Puerto Rican national team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC). He was selected the MVP of Pool D, where team Puerto Rico attained a 3–0 record. His offensive stats in the first round included five hits in 11 at bats for a .455 average, two HR, four RBI, and four runs scored. Puerto Rico went undefeated in the first and second rounds until losing to the United States in the championship game. Following the conclusion of the tournament, he was named to the 2017 All-WBC team.
2023 WBC
Lindor once again played for the Puerto Rican national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and was made team captain after a vote from the players. He hit to a .450 average with six runs, five RBI, and one triple through five games. Lindor also ran out an inside-the-park home run in 15.7 seconds to secure a win against the Dominican Republic, a victory which ensured Puerto Rico's advancement to the quarterfinals and qualification for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico then lost to Mexico in the quarterfinals, with Lindor going 2–5 on two singles in their final game.
2026 WBC
Lindor planned to reprise his role as team captain for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Five weeks before the tournament, Lindor was ruled ineligible to play by the WBC's insurance agency, due to the right elbow debridement procedure he had in October of 2025, making him uninsurable.
Personal life
Lindor married his wife Katia (née Reguero) on December 16, 2021, in Miami, Florida. They have two daughters and one son.
On September 16, 2025, Katia performed the Star-Spangled Banner on the violin at a Mets game. She hosts the Unaparent podcast. In December 2025, she was named to New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani's inaugural committee.
In December 2025, the Lindors purchased an Upper East Side penthouse for $21.2 million.
Awards and accomplishments
Records and Milestones
2× 30–30 club (2023, 2025)
Most career postseason grand slams (2)
Most seasons with 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases as a shortstop (4)
Most seasons with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases as a shortstop (5)
Statistical achievements
Note: Through 2025 season. Per Baseball-Reference.com.