PORT ST. LUCIE — Francisco Lindor considers outside perceptions of the Mets irrelevant.

A team that traded star players for prospects last summer and finished with 75 wins had little offseason sizzle and this week began spring training as something of a National League afterthought, but Lindor said Thursday that doesn’t factor into how he views this upcoming season.

The veteran shortstop has played the game long enough to understand the only perceptions that matter are the ones by the players in the clubhouse.

He cited the two teams that reached the World Series last season.

“I am sure nobody was expecting the Diamondbacks, but I am sure they were,” Lindor said. “Not too many people were expecting the Rangers, either, but I am sure they were. That’s kind of where everybody is in the same boat. It’s not about the expectations outside, it’s what you believe in what you think you can do.

“Everybody in the big leagues can play the game, it’s who can play it better? Who can play the game the right way day in and day out and who can be more consistent? At the end of the day it’s a chance to be in October, and once you get to October anything can happen.”

The Mets will still have a payroll in the $300 million neighborhood this season, but backed away from big-ticket items on the free-agent market after missing on Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed with the Dodgers.

Instead, the Mets filled their pitching staff with middle-of-the rotation options and lower-leverage bullpen arms.

A lineup that might have benefited from adding a proven bat was left untouched, as president of baseball operations David Stearns landed lower-cost defensive upgrades.

“Every year you climb the stairs,” said Lindor, whose $341 million contract runs through 2031. “For some people it might seem we’re going backwards, but I bought into the concept of a long-term deal. I am not here for one or two years. I keep on seeing that we are moving in the right direction. We have changed people along the way, but that is part of the process. I’m fully onboard. I respect what they are doing and I am here to win and I keep on seeing good things that we’re headed in the right direction.”

Lindor, 30, is looking to play without pain this season.