Francisco Lindor has already arrived at the party. Now, how do the Mets make you stay?
The shortstop star – the centerpiece of a sales success this week that also topped pitcher Carlos Carrasco and sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf to Cleveland – is scheduled for a Zoom press conference on Monday , when questions will be asked about your future intentions. For now, the only certainty is that he will belong to the Mets in 2021, his last year before the free agency.
The Post surveyed agents, baseball executives and insiders on Friday to get an idea of what Lindor’s magic number would be for a contract extension that would keep him in Queens for his entire career.
The vast majority agreed that it would take a 10-year commitment to sign Lindor, who turned 27 in November. Estimates of the total dollar value ranged between $ 290 million and $ 360 million. The average of all estimates suggested an unexpected gain of $ 320 million, taking Lindor from 2021 to 2030.
Such a deal would go beyond the $ 300 million 10-year contract that Manny Machado received from the Fathers before the 2019 season. The most recent monster contract was Mookie Betts’ 12-year contract with the Dodgers for $ 365 million on last summer.
A rival executive predicted Lindor would ask for $ 390 million in 10 years.
“He has already turned down a large number of Indians, so he has high expectations,” said the executive, adding that he predicts that Lindor will receive $ 350 million from the Mets in 10 years.
A source who predicted the $ 290 million minimum range limit in 10 years, said he believed Lindor wanted to speed up the process.
“I think he wants to sign,” said the source.
During the press conference to announce the exchange, team president Sandy Alderson indicated that he hoped to start negotiations with Lindor’s agent in the coming weeks. If a deal is not reached before Opening Day, it will likely suggest that Lindor is moving to a free agency, in a potential historic market for shortstop talent. Corey Seager, Carlos Correa and Trevor Story are among the other shortstops that can reach free agency after the season.
A surveyed agent thinks Mets, with the sport’s richest owner, Steve Cohen, may want to wait until the next off-season before making a serious offer. After all, Cohen would be in a position to beat any other offer Lindor received.
“I don’t think they make an offer unless it’s really a friendly contract for the club,” said the agent. “They will want to see you play in New York. You know what New York is like: show me that you can play in New York before I pay. That’s the attitude I would take if I were them. “
The Mets’ biggest contract (in terms of total dollars) is the $ 138 million extension that David Wright received before arriving at the free agency after the 2012 season. Jacob deGrom is currently the highest-paid player on the Mets when he joined in the third season of a $ 137.5 million five-year contract extension.
Lindor’s reason, according to another researched agent, should be to get a new contract sooner or later – assuming, of course, that the shortstop wants to play in New York. But the agent also suggested that Mets should make a strong offer from the start.
“You have to make this a no-brainer for [Lindor] to do, ”said the agent. “But there are few teams that are going to pay that kind of money. There are only a handful of teams that can reach these levels. “