PORT ST. LUCIE – Francisco Lindor, who was wearing his green shortstop glove, finally deduced what training ground he belonged to on Monday at the Mets spring training complex.
“It’s clear I didn’t block that, so I have to figure it out,” Lindor said after the team’s first full training session.
It is also not closed: His future.
Lindor’s arrival at camp started the clock on a potential long-term extension that will keep him at the Mets throughout his career. Lindor, 27, can become a free agent after this season.
According to Lindor, the enlargement talks have not started yet, and he reiterated his desire to end such talks before the opening day. Lindor’s negotiations with Cleveland stopped last season, prompting the team to replace him with Carlos Carrasco at the Mets.
“I did not find the time [to negotiate] and obviously I have to know the organization, to know the people and they have to know me “, said Lindor. “If anything happens, we’ll see in the future, this is between my agent and Sandy [Alderson, team president] and the rest of the staff. The conversations were non-existent. I think it’s too early. ”
Acting CEO Zack Scott said, “the sooner the better,” when asked for a potential timetable for launching negotiations.
Lindor is well aware of the $ 340 million 14-year deal he received from the Padres last week on the shortstop, Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis is five years younger, but had not even reached eligibility. arbitration before agreeing to the agreement.
“Tatis got a great deal for him,” Lindor said. “I am just happy for him. He deserves it, his family deserves it and that shows that the game is heading in the right direction. There are two $ 300 million players on the same team [Manny Machado is the other], so the game is heading in the right direction.
“I am happy for him and I am delighted to see him play for the next 14 years. If God wants me to stay healthy and he does, and especially being in the National League this year, it will be fun to play against him, which I never had a chance to play against him. ”
Lindor turned down an offer in Cleveland that was thought to be worth more than $ 200 million. And he’s ready to become a free agent if he doesn’t hear the right number from the Mets.
“I was never scared of the free agency, so I don’t have to rush to sign an agreement,” he said.
The Mets handed over Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf in the deal for Lindor and Carrasco, so the organization would prefer a long-term marriage with a shortstop, even in a free agent market in the position that could include names like Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Javy Baez and Trevor Story.
“Every time you talk to a player about an extension, you look for that midpoint that makes sense for both the player and the club,” Scott said. “You can’t force these things all the time. It takes two parts to try to make this work and if it doesn’t work for one, you won’t get a deal and it’s okay. Never enter into a negotiation with a type of attitude at all costs. You need to think about what is right for your club’s present and future. “
Lindor blamed the second offensive 2020 season for changing the weight room routine; says he was tired by the end of the season. Lindor dropped .258 / .335 / .415 last season with eight homers and 27 RBIs in 60 games.
“I didn’t give my best in the weight room and that showed in the last week of the season, I got tired,” he said. “It is [working harder] during this year’s season, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. “