Before playing a regular-season game with the Mets, 27-year-old superstar shortstop, Francisco Lindor has agreed to a 10-year, $341 million extension that will make him the third-highest paid player in MLB history, just moments before Lindor’s “start of the season deadline.”
The deal will contain deferrals, no opt-outs, and a no-trade clause. His AAV of $34,1 million ranks 6th among active contacts and he will become the highest-paid shortstop in baseball. His deal is $1 million more than the deal that Fernando Tatis Jr. signed to make him the highest-paid shortstop by total value.
The Mets and Steve Cohen originally met with Lindor and his agent and offered him a 10-year $325 million extension. Lindor countered with 12-years $385 million and the two sides appeared to have reached an impasse. Lindor was fully prepared to go to free agency if a deal could not be finalized in time. As he did in Cleveland, he would not allow contract extension talks to happen during the season to avoid distractions.
Shortly after acquiring Lindor from the Cleveland Indians, the Mets avoided salary arbitration with Lindor by signing him to a one-year, $22.3 million deal. Only Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout ($426.5 million) and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts ($365 million) will have a higher total value than Lindor.
It was clear when the Mets made the blockbuster trade with Cleveland to acquire Lindor that Cohen was going to do everything possible to keep him a Met for life. It is not often that you get a player as productive and as marketable as Lindor, especially in a big market like New York. His magnetic and charismatic personality makes it hard to root against him and now that he has his big-time payday in a big-time city, he should attract even more attention.
Lindor burst onto the scene in 2015 when he was called up to Cleveland late in the season to make a playoff push. He delivered on his high expectations the next season as he was a big part of Cleveland’s run to game seven of the World Series. In his time with Cleveland, he was apart of three AL central titles, four postseason appearances, and one American League pennant.
Lindor is a four-time all-star with two gold gloves and two silver sluggers. He has a career batting average of .285, an OBP of .833, and a career WAR of 25.8. Over the last four seasons, Lindor leads all shortstops in home runs (111) and XBH (258). Although he did struggle in a COVID shortened season last year, it is reasonable to expect that the Mets will be getting some of Lidnor’s best years of his prime.
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