Francisco Lindor

20/20 Offseason Hindsight: Let The Steve Cohen Era Begin

Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets, and suddenly, everything got better. After Cohen purchased the Mets, things were different, very different:

1. It’s still unbelievable to think the Mets added $92.1 million to the 2021 payroll alone. If nothing else, that announced everything was different.

2. The Francisco Lindor trade was a franchise defining trade. He’s a superstar as future Hall of Famer.

3. It’s still hard to believe a contract extension won’t get done. After him, Noah Syndergaard may get one next.

4. It’s hard to see Scott Boras letting Michael Conforto sign an extension now. However, if he does, he will be poised to be the next captain and break a lot of David Wright’s records.

5. Speaking of breaking records, Jacob deGrom looks primed to have a great year. He cane out in midseason form, and it’ll be a shock if he’s not the Cy Young.

6. When Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco return, this will be an all-time Mets rotation.

7. It’s still curious the plan to start the year is to put David Peterson in a position where he bounces back and forth all year.

8. Speaking of curious decisions, how do the Mets make all of these moves and build a ground ball staff only to trust J.D. Davis at third.

9. They’re also putting a lot of stock in Edwin Diaz being great, and Miguel Castro figuring it out. Although to be fair, it’s not the same with Davis as this was the result of Seth Lugo‘s injury.

10. Dellin Betances looks done. With him, we may find out just how much Cohen can tolerate and whether the Mets know how to handle a sunk cost.

11. With Jordan Yamamoto not making the Opening Day roster and Luis Guillorme not getting a starting job, we see Spring Training competitions are a complete fraud.

12. For all the lip service Sandy Alderson gave to making the Mats a better defensive team, he did what he always did in putting multiple first basemen in the field.

13. They may be deadening the ball, but Pete Alonso looks ready to murder them. He’s completely locked in and looks poised to have a monster year.

14. Marcus Stroman also looks set to have a great year. He may be a surprise Cy Young contender, and it may behoove the Mets to lock him up before his price tag soars.

15. Stroman is a reminder the Mets never needed Trevor Bauer. Bauer may have another great year, but he’d be a fifth starter on this team, and he would’ve prevented the Mets from extending their stars.

16. All told, this is a team who has a deep lineup and a very good starting rotation. There are holes, but the team seems confident they can win.

17. The black jerseys returning does give this team big 1999 vibes.

18. Luis Rojas may emerge as a surprise manager of the year candidate. This team is that good and so is he. The key will Be how well he utilizes his defensive replacements in Guillorme (who should be starting), Albert Almora, and Kevin Pillar.

19. James McCann seems like the perfect addition to this team. The pitchers seem to be raving about his leadership and work behind the plate. If he hits a little (and he can hit a lot), he’s going to be great.

20. Everything about this organization is different. The team is vastly improved. They’re looking to keep their best players. They’re beefing up their analytics and player development. Overall, it’s a great time to be a Mets fan.

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Francisco Lindor Extension Negotiations Isn’t Same Old Mets

In case you were wondering just how much the Wilpons have scarred New York Mets fans, we see the reactions to the Francisco Lindor contract discussions. Seeing it, you’d think the Wilpons were again outbid for a borderline MLB reliever.

It should be noted the Mets have offered Lindor a 10 year/$325 million contract. That’s an AAV of $32.5 million which would pay Lindor until he’s 37 years old.

It would make it the largest contract in Mets history given to David Wright by more than double. It would fall only short of Mookie Betts and Mike Trout for the largest extensions in MLB history. It’s on par with the extension given to Fernando Tatis, Jr., and it would put him only behind Bryce Harper in the division.

Yes, Lindor has every right to negotiate for every last penny, and he’s in his right to reject that offer. After a big year, he could get a better offer, and perhaps he won’t. That said, you have to respect him betting on himself.

That’s what this is. It’s a mixture of Lindor thinking he’s worth more and betting on himself. You can say that because the Mets made an extremely fair and reasonable offer.

It’s part of a completely different offseason for the Mets where they added a lot of payroll. Seriously, you wouldn’t see the Wilpons make these moves in one offseason let alone two or three:

Adding those salaries up, the Mets added $92.1 million. Read that again. The Mets added $92.1 million to the 2021 payroll.

What exactly about that is the same old Mets? If it’s missing out on Trevor Bauer, George Springer, or not extending Lindor yet, it’s over focusing on the negative. Likely, it’s schtick, scarring from the Wilpon era, or just a want to be miserable.

Whatever happens with Lindor will happen. We can judge that on Opening Day as well as the 2021 season and beyond. Whatever the case, this is a very different Mets organization than we’ve seen from the Wilpons, and it should be viewed and treated as such.

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Mets May Be Paying For Francisco Lindor Agent’s Previous Blunders

At the moment, the New York Mets and Francisco Lindor are at an impasse. The Mets made a “final offer” of 10 years/$325 million. Lindor countered with 12 years/$385 million.

At this point, you’d expect both sides to get this done because both sides have a lot to lose.

For the Mets part, it’s Steve Cohen’s credibility. Fans won’t care about Lindor’s demands because Cohen is the richest owner in sports. Many fans will say an extra $60 million is pocket change to him.

Another factor is Andres Gimenez. The once top prospect from the Mets was impressive in 2020, and he has really impressed the Cleveland Indians. It’s an even worse look not to extend or sign Lindor when Gimenez is a budding All-Star.

With respect to Lindor, this is his career and his life. Whatever the deal, this is where Lindor is going to finish his career, and it is where he will live for at least the next decade of his life.

As much as both sides have at stake, it may be nothing compared to Lindor’s agent David Meter. Meter has already had some high profile failures with his negotiations.

The first was Ozzie Albies. The Atlanta Braves signed the young second baseman to a seven year/$35 million extension which was almost universally panned.

Sports Illustrated called the deal “insultingly cheap.” The Ringer called it an “inexplicable contract.” Jeff Passan, now of ESPN, said the deal was universally looked upon as “the worst contract ever for a player.”

As bad as that deal was for Albies, at least he got a contract. Craig Kimbrel couldn’t say the same thing.

Through the first nine seasons of his career, Kimbrel was on a clear Hall of Fame path. His ERA+ was the best all-time, and he was approaching the top 10 in all-time saves. At 30, he was still in the prime of his career.

The end result was Kimbrel not signing with anyone. This was largely because Kimbrel and his agent completely misread the market.

In many ways, like Meter is doing with Lindor, the goal was setting a record contract. This led to an asking price of $100 million. There rumors he wanted a 5-6 year deal. This was not just for a closer, but for a closer who was going to be 31 in the first year of the deal.

You know you’ve done something wrong as an agent when you have a future Hall of Famer in his prime, and you fail to even engage in serious negotiations. Meter didn’t just misread the market, it was like he was a toddler trying to read War and Peace.

This left Kimbrel with little other choice than to wait out teams and for the draft pick compensation to pass. Eventually, Kimbrel did get a three year $43 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

It should be noted that was a lower AAV than the $17.9 million qualifying offer Kimbrel received from the Boston Red Sox. It was also lower than the offers Kimbrel likely solicited and turned down.

There’s another important element here. Kimbrel had been astonishingly durable in his career. After the long layoff, he hit the IL after just 23 games. He was also terrible in last year’s pandemic shortened season.

These are arguably the two highest profile negotiations Meter has handled, and he and his agency have botched them both. Perhaps, this is a good news/bad news situation for the Mets.

With Albies, the lesson was don’t jump the gun and take a well below market deal. With the Mets offering $325 million, it’s safe to say Meter is past that point. Now, he just needs to learn the Kimbrel lesson.

According to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, the Mets were assured Lindor wasn’t asking for an extension greater than Mookie Betts‘. Lindor’s counter-offer was just that. It’s now time for Meter to learn the Kimbrel lesson.

Lindor is the best SS in the game. He’s a superstar who is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. That said, he’s coming off the worst year of his career. Right now, we’re all able to write that off as pandemic related.

Here’s the problem for Meter and Lindor. If he doesn’t return to form, his market is annihilated. The impending shortstop free agent class is too deep, and no one is going to come near the Mets offer.

If Lindor wants to bet on himself, he should, and we should all respect that. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s his career, and he’s earned that right.

However, for Meter, everything rides on this negotiation and season. He can’t mess things up for a third client. Right now, he’s trying to make the Mets pay for his previous mistakes. If he’s not careful, he could be making the biggest mistake of his career.

Ultimately, this is why there should be optimism a deal gets done despite the Mets last offer posturing. The Mets need to continue to change the narrative, and Meter needs to not screw up a high profile deal.

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Still Too Early To Worry About Mets Extension Negotiations

After this season, Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard will be free agents. With respect to Conforto and Lindor, they have said they will not negotiate in-season.

At the moment, it does not appear the New York Mets are particularly close to completing deals with any of the four. That said, it hasn’t stopped Steve Cohen from having some fun with it.

There are various reports on each. There’s some confidence Lindor will get his $300 million extension. No one trusts Boras will reach a deal on Conforto with the paucity of quality MLB outfielders on the free agent market. No one is sure what Syndergaard’s value is, and it seems like everything is silent on Stroman.

This is still in the big yawn territory. Remember, the Mets held up the plane back to New York to ensure Jacob deGrom would sign his extension. Certainly, if they need to do that again, they’ll do it.

Up until the moment you hear player introductions on Opening Day is the time to be worried. Short of that, we should still trust at least one of these deals get done.

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Mike Piazza Is Our Living Legend

While COVID protocols are supposed to put a stop to the ceremonial presentation of the lineup cards to the umpire, everyone seemed to make an exception for Mike Piazza. During Spring Training, he went out to home plate to deliver the lineup card while everyone else remained in the dugout and clubhouses.

While most former players stayed home, Piazza was at Spring Training. He was seen talking in the dugout. He spoke with the media about being a Mets great and about his being in the position Francisco Lindor now finds himself. With all of this, we see Piazza embracing his role as the Mets living legend, and in turn, the Mets franchise embracing him.

Truth is, this has been a process we have seen take place since 2015, perhaps sooner. It was Piazza who threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the 2015 World Series. That was a spot which should have gone to Tom Seaver, but as we later learned, Seaver was not in good enough health to make that appearance. As such, it was Piazza who threw out that pitch.

If you think about it, the passing of that torch from Seaver to Piazza ceremoniously happened when Citi Field opened. As we know, the last pitch ever thrown at Shea Stadium was Seaver throwing a pitch to Piazza, and the two legends exited the stadium side-by-side. They would recreate the moment by entering Citi Field together with Seaver again throwing a pitch to Piazza.

In that moment, Piazza became the Mets living legend. That status was further crystalized with Piazza’s first pitch, Hall of Fame induction, and number retirement. We also saw the Mets rename the road by their Spring Training complex after Piazza much in the same way the Mets finally did for Seaver at Citi Field.

The good news with Piazza is the Mets have had an easier time embracing him than they did with Seaver. Of course, that refers to the organization led by the Wilpons and not the fans. There has been no apparent uneasiness between them, and we have seen Piazza as a regular face at the important Mets events. We will see that once again on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

All told, we are blessed Mike Piazza came to the Mets in that 1998 trade and that he signed that deal. That led him to a path towards not only further building his Hall of Fame resume, but it also led him to being the real face of the Mets franchise. He is the person who mentors the young players at Spring Training, helps the next generation of Mets superstars, and he is the man who throws out the first pitch before the first game of the World Series.

Put another way, Mike Piazza is the Mets living legend.

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Reasons Mets Should Not Extend Francisco Lindor

The New York Mets are currently negotiating a long term contract extension with Francisco Lindor which may very well surpass $300 million. Here are the reasons why the Mets should be cautious and not give Lindor such an extension:

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What You Missed From Mets Not Televised Spring Training Game

Because MLB hasn’t quite figured out its diehard fans want to see Spring Training games, New York Mets fans have to wait to see what happened. They missed all they wanted to see.

Jacob deGrom was brilliant for 4.2 scoreless innings throwing between 99-102 MPH.

He’s actually get some run support with future captain Michael Conforto and future Hall of Famer Francisco Lindor homering.

Miguel Castro was terrific again with a scoreless inning, and Dellin Betances seemed to right the ship with a scoreless inning himself. All told, it was a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals.

All-in-all not a bad day. The only downside was no one was able to watch it.

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Francisco Lindor Extension Deadline Impacts Michael Conforto

The New York Mets have four huge core players hitting free agency after the 2021 season – Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard. At various times, Sandy Alderson has stated they were going to address them one by one.

That’s understandable as one big deal to one may well impact another player. That’s why the Mets need to prioritize and work sequentially.

With Lindor being the future Hall of Famer and the best player on this team, he understandably comes first. He also comes first because Lindor has stated he will not negotiate in-season.

Realistically speaking, there’s no reason to believe the deal won’t get done. Lindor seems to be enjoying being a New York Met, and he has been open to an extension.

For the Mets part, you’d have to believe they had some sense of what it would take to get Lindor. Moreover, this is an area where Steve Cohen’s ownership of the Mets makes a true difference. All told, there is no reason to believe a deal won’t get done.

The real concern is the timing. Heading into the 2019 season, Jacob deGrom said he wouldn’t negotiate in-season. Eventually, deGrom signed just as the Mets were set to embark to begin the season.

If that were to happen with Lindor, we can all breath a sigh of relief. Well, that’s until we see if there is enough money to and time to extend everyone else.

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Mets Need To Play Luis Guillorme Everyday

Yet again, Luis Guillorme made a terrific defensive play. It’s what he does, and aside from possibly Francisco Lindor, he plays defense far better than anyone on the New York Mets.

When you see plays like this and all the plays Guillorme can make, there should be no doubt about playing him everyday. Not only is Guillorme a real asset with his defense, he’s also a difference maker.

At least defensively, Guillorme and Lindor would combine to be one of, if not the best middle infields in all of baseball. That would be of vital importance to a Mets pitching staff who generates a large number of ground balls.

On that front, it’s important to note Pete Alonso is a bad first baseman. His -7 DRS since his MLB debut is the second worst. His -9 OAA is one of the worst too. Having Guillorme at second would help offset that.

He’d do that much better than Jeff McNeil. McNeil is good at second with a 1 DRS. He’s just not on Guillorme’s par. That’s not a slight to McNeil in the least, but rather, an acknowledgment of just how good Guillorme is defensively.

Keep in mind, Guillorme is not just a glove. He can hit too.

No, Guillorme is not a 30 home run hitter. He’s not even half that. Still, in big moments, he can hit one out:

Guillorme has seen his wRC+ increase in each one of his MLB seasons. Part of the reason is he’s been steadily increasing. He projects to be a near league average. That’s more than alright for an eighth place hitter with his glove.

That goes double when the Mets are already sacrificing defense at first, third, left, and center. A player in just for defense makes more than enough sense for a team shoe-horning in bats and has a ground ball staff.

All told, Guillorme is an excellent defender who can hit. He’s going to offset Alonso’s defense on the right side while creating a dynamic double play duo with Lindor.

All told, Guillorme is exactly what the Mets need at second, and he’s a better all strong player than he gets credit. As such, he should be put in the Opening Day lineup and on each of the ensuing games.

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Mets Third Base Dilemma

Simply put, third base was the biggest hole the New York Mets had this offseason, and they did nothing to address it. Now, they’re scrambling.

The incumbent, J.D. Davis, is the worst defensive player in baseball. Not hyperbole, his DRS is literally the worst since joining the Mets.

With the Mets not improving, they’re starting to sell he’s improved there. They even point to Francisco Lindor working with him. There are two problems to this.

First, it’s useless talking point we hear every Spring akin to “best shape of their life.” Second, Davis is still quite bad in the videos promoting his defense.

Really, he can’t play the position, and the Mets need to stop trying to make it work. The problem is if not Davis, then who?

Yes, the answer is literally anyone else on the team would be better, but that’s also not a good answer. One early talking point is the idea of a Davis platoon with the left-handed hitting Jonathan Villar.

Villar, too, is a bad defender. Over the last two years, he has a -12 DRS in the middle of the infield. The counter-argument is third may be an easier position to play and a better fit for him.

However, that point ignores the disaster Jose Reyes was at third. Players in defensive decline just don’t automatically stem the tide and thrive at third. That’s an important consideration for a player in Villar who hasn’t played there since 2016. In that year, he played 346.2 innings there and had a -5 DRS.

So, looking at it, we return to Jeff McNeil, a player who has actually been the Opening Day starter there the last two seasons. He also has a career 5 DRS and 3 OAA there in his career.

Yes, he had a tough stretch there last year, and he had a tough Spring Training game. Even with that, he’s still been FAR SUPERIOR than the players who are under consideration for third. If you couple that with the ability to put Luis Guillorme and his Gold Glove caliber defense at second, it’s hard to argue there’s a better option.

The only problem is the Mets seem to be reluctant to both put McNeil at third and to play Guillorme everyday. It’s a bizarre thought process with zero sound reasoning given the construction of this roster.

Whatever the case, this is how the Mets built their team. It’s imperative they put their best players on the field in the best position to succeed and help the pitching staff who induces a lot of grounders.

Short of the Mets making that trade for a third baseman, they’re stuck trying to figure out a dilemma they failed to address this offseason. Rather than push sunk costs, lost cases, and poor thought processes, they need to do what helps them win in 2021.

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