Francisco Lindor arrived at the party. Now, how does the Mets keep him going?
The Star Shortstop – the centerpiece of a week-long blockbuster deal that also sold pitcher Carlos Carrasco and sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf to Cleveland – is scheduled to hold a Zoom press conference on Monday. when questions will be asked about his future intentions. For now, the only certainty is that it belongs to the Mets for 2021, its last year before the free agency.
The Post on Friday questioned agents, baseball directors and insiders to get an idea of Lindor’s magic number for a contract extension that would keep him in Queens throughout his career.
The vast majority agreed that a 10-year commitment would be needed to sign Lindor, who turned 27 in November. The total value of the dollar values of the estimates varies between 290 and 360 million dollars. The average of all guesstimates suggested a $ 320 million heart, taking Lindor from 2021 to 2030.
Such a deal would exceed the $ 300 million 10-year contract Manny Machado received from Padres before the 2019 season. The most recent monster contract was Mookie Betts’ 12-year deal with the Dodgers in worth $ 365 million last summer.
A rival executive has predicted that Lindor will demand $ 390 million over 10 years.
“He has already turned down a large number of Indians, so he has high expectations,” the executive said, adding that he predicted Lindor would receive $ 350 million from the Mets in 10 years.
An insider who predicted the low end of the range, at 290 million dollars over 10 years, said he believes Lindor wants to speed up the process.
“I think he wants to sign,” the insider said.
During the press conference to announce the transaction, team chairman Sandy Alderson said he expects negotiations with Agent Lindor to begin in the coming weeks. If no agreement is reached before Opening Day, it would probably suggest that Lindor is heading to the free agency, in a potential historical market for short-lived talent. Corey Seager, Carlos Correa and Trevor Story are among the other shorts that can reach the free agency after the season.
A surveyed agent believed that the Mets, along with the richest owner in the sport, Steve Cohen, might want to wait until the next off-season before making a serious offer. After all, Cohen would be in a position to outdo any other offer Lindor received.
“I don’t think I’m making an offer, unless it’s really a friendly contract with the club,” the agent said. “They want to see him play in New York. You know how New York works: show me you can play in New York before I pay you. This is the attitude I would take if I were them. “
The Mets’ biggest contract (in total dollars) is the $ 138 million extension David Wright received before joining the free agency after the 2012 season. Jacob deGrom is currently the highest paid player from the Mets, as it enters the third season of a five-year $ 137.5 million contract extension.
Lindor’s reason, according to another agent interviewed, should be to get a new contract sooner rather than later – assuming, of course, that the shortstop wants to play in New York. But the agent also suggested that the Mets should make a strong offer from the start.
“It simply came to our notice then [Lindor] let’s do it, “said the agent. “But there are so many teams that will pay this kind of dollars. There are only a handful of teams that can reach these levels. “