Mets Francisco Lindor settles for second to Shohei Ohtani in MVP race

The Mets’ franchise drought continues: Francisco Lindor finished second in National League MVP voting, the organization still without a winner of the award.Shohei Ohtani received all 30 votes for first place in an election that was announced Thursday night, while Lindor secured 23 of 30 second-place votes.Arizona’s Ketel Marte finished third.Lindor, whose excellent season at the plate and at shortstop helped carry the Mets out of the depths and into the NLCS, fell short against baseball’s first 50-50 player.

Ohtani, a DH this past year, finished with 54 home runs and 59 steals and brought the Dodgers to a World Series title.The Mets have had four players finish as MVP runners-up: Lindor, Darryl Strawberry (1988), Keith Hernandez (1984) and Tom Seaver (1969).The Mets added another flier in first baseman/corner outfielder Joey Meneses, who signed a minor league pact with an invitation to big-league camp, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.Meneses, who spent the past three seasons with the Nationals, got his chance after Washington dealt Juan Soto in 2022 and looked like a late-blossoming, solid player.Over 210 games in 2022-23, he hit .288 with a .778 OPS and 26 home runs.But the 32-year-old had a poor ’24 (.593 OPS) and was removed from the Nationals’ roster before electing free agency.Meneses, who predominantly played first base last season, has two minor league options remaining and could become depth for a club that has watched Pete Alonso hit the open market.

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