The New York Mets made the splash of the offseason to this point by acquiring Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene.
The move immediately puts the Mets among the contenders in the National League, although it’s not yet guaranteed to be for the long haul considering Lindor is entering the final year of club control before reaching free agency.
This trade was very similar to the one the Los Angeles Dodgers made with the Boston Red Sox a year ago, acquiring Mookie Betts and David Price.
Betts was also in his final year of team control, although he was able to agree to a record-breaking 12-year contract extension before ever playing a single game with the Dodgers.
During his introductory press conference in New York, Lindor was asked about the possibility of an extension, and he compared his situation to Betts and the Dodgers, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
“We all know how everybody is talking about everything and it’s comparable to Mookie. Mookie fell into a great situation and felt comfortable with the L.A. Dodgers and made a decision that was best for him and his family. Like I said, I’m excited to be with the Mets organization. I’m not against a long-term (contract extension). I’m not against it. It just has to make sense for both sides. I’m sure my agent David will do a great job and communicate every single thing that I desire, and hopefully both parties understand and we’ll see what happens. I’m excited. Just like all the fans out there, I’m extremely excited for this new chapter.”
New Mets owner Steve Cohen has made it clear he wants to spend money to get his team back to relevance, so it seems likely they will be able to get an extension done with Lindor before Opening Day.
Betts and the Dodgers’ partnership has worked out to this point as he finished second in the NL MVP voting in his first season with the team and went on the win the World Series.
Dodgers still prefer Turner over LeMahieu
Up until Lindor was traded to the Mets, the Dodgers remained somewhat in the mix to potentially acquire him as they search for a right-handed-hitting position player.
There are still plenty of other options out there though, and recent reports indicate they prefer re-signing Justin Turner over adding DJ LeMahieu.
Turner is reportedly seeking a four-year contract though, so it remains to be seen if he and the Dodgers will be able to find a middle ground to get a deal done.
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