Francisco Lindor has arrived at the party. Now, how do the Mets get it to stay?
The star venue, the centerpiece of a box office trade this week that also ceded pitcher Carlos Carrasco and sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf to Cleveland, is scheduled to hold a press conference Zoom on Monday , when questions will be asked. you will be asked about your 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 did a survey on Friday of agents, baseball executives and insiders to find out what Lindor’s magic would be for a contract extension that would keep him in Queens throughout his career.
The vast majority agreed that it would take a ten-year commitment to sign Lindor, who turned 27 in November. The total dollar value of the estimates ranged from $ 290 million to $ 360 million. The average of all the assumption estimates suggested an unforeseen $ 320 million, which led Lindor from 2021 to 2030.
That deal would exceed the $ 300 million ten-year contract Manny Machado received from the Padres before the 2019 season. The most recent monster contract was Mookie Betts’ 12-year deal with the Dodgers for of $ 365 million last summer.
A rival executive predicted Lindor would ask for $ 390 million in ten years.
“He turned down a lot of Indians, so he has high expectations,” the executive said, adding that he predicts Lindor will receive $ 350 million from the Mets for ten years.
A privileged member who predicted the low end of the range, at $ 290 million in ten years, said he believed Lindor wants to streamline the process.
“I think he wants to sign,” the informant said.
During the press conference to announce the trade, team chairman Sandy Alderson indicated that he hoped to begin negotiations with Lindor’s agent in the coming weeks. If no agreement is reached before the opening day, it is likely to suggest that Lindor head to free agency, in a potential historical market for short-term talent. Corey Seager, Carlos Correa and Trevor Story are among the other short films that can come to the agency free of charge after the season.
One agent surveyed thought the Mets, with the sport’s richest owner, Steve Cohen, might want to wait until next low season before making a serious offer. Cohen, after all, would be in a position to surpass any other offer Lindor received.
“I don’t think they make 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 goes: Show me you can play in New York before it pays you. This is the attitude I would take if it were them.
Mets ’biggest contract (in terms of overall dollars) is the $ 138 million extension that David Wright received before coming to free agency, after the 2012 season. Jacob deGrom is currently the player for Mets better paid as he enters the third season of a five-year contract extension worth $ 137.5 million.
According to another agent surveyed, Lindor’s reason should be to get a new contract sooner rather than later, assuming, of course, that the stop wants to play in New York. But the agent also suggested the Mets should make a strong offer from the start.
“You have to make this not obvious [Lindor] “But there are only so many teams that will pay that kind of dollars. There are only a handful of teams that can reach those levels.”