The Metropolitan: Lindor forever!
Opening day! And the Mets lock up a franchise superstar
Happy Opening Day!
This morning we will get you ready with everything you need to know before the Mets’ first game — including mega-star Francisco Lindor agreeing to the largest contract in franchise history late last night.
But first: If you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with others:
And with that, let’s get into the enormously consequential news this morning.
⏰ Catch me up in 60(ish) seconds…
🚨 A FRANCHISE SUPERSTAR IS SIGNED! Late last night, Jon Heyman reported the Mets reached a deal with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, with Anthony DiComo revealing the key terms: 10 years, $341 million.
FINE PRINT: While this is more money than the Mets' previous $325 million offer, it reportedly does include deferrals, which likely reduces the net present value to close to that number (a structure we proposed in this space yesterday). Specifically, $5 million of each year of the contract is deferred to 2032-41, for a total of $50 million deferred. In addition, the deal begins in 2022, meaning Lindor's previous deal for 2021 still exists. So if you count the $22.3 million he is already set to earn this season plus the extension amount, he will make $363.3 million over 11 seasons, making the shortstop a New York Met up to his 38th birthday.
BREAKDOWN: Joel Sherman reports that Lindor will receive $32 million a year in each of the 10 seasons, plus a $21 million signing bonus, adding up to $341 million. Andy Martino reports there are no opt-outs and Sherman says there’s a limited “no-trade” clause to 15 teams.
PLACE IN HISTORY: Astute readers may notice that Lindor’s $341 million extension is a million more than what Fernando Tatis, Jr. received from the Padres just weeks ago. And Lindor’s $363.3 million total value falls just shy of Mookie Betts’ 12-year, $365MM deal, although the average annual value on Lindor’s extension is greater. It is overwhelmingly the largest contract in Mets history, breaking David Wright’s previous 8-year, $138 million mark.
UP TO THE MINUTE: The deal was announced by Heyman at 11:13 pm, just 47 minutes before Opening Day, and roughly 20 hours before the first pitch was to be thrown (although, intriguingly, Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker seems to have had the scoop first). The news came amid reports that Steve Cohen was “upset and baffled” at Lindor refusing to accept one of the richest contracts in baseball history.
CONTEXT: Had the Mets and Lindor not agreed to an extension by November, he would have become a free agent after the season, along with other star shortstops like Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javy Baez and Carlos Correa. But this is all moot: The Mets have locked up one of the best players on the planet for the next decade.
JERSEY SALES: The Mets now have, as cornerstones of the franchise, three of the Top 20 players in terms of jersey sales since the end of the World Series: Lindor (8th), Jacob deGrom (18th), and Pete Alonso (20th).
Now, to Opening Day….
🏁 START YOUR ENGINES: After a franchise-changing offseason that brought a new owner, leading up to two GM changes, a trade for (and suspenseful extension of) a superstar, and the Mets turning over a huge portion of their 40-man roster, Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets at 7:09 PM EST to start the 2021 season against the Nationals in Washington, DC.
🏥 NATS SCRAMBLE: While 2020 is behind us, the pandemic is not. News broke on Wednesday that a player on the Nationals tested positive for COVID-19, forcing an additional four players and one staff member into quarantine following contact tracing. This was the first positive test of the spring for the Nationals.
🏆🏆🏆🏆 CY x 4: Tonight’s starter, Max Scherzer, was not on the flight where the spread occurred, so he is expected to pitch, meaning fans will be treated to a matchup of Jacob deGrom vs. Max Scherzer, collectively the owners of four of the last five Cy Young awards in the National League (or all of the last four full-season trophies).
📚 April 1, 1996: The Mets rally from a 6-0 deficit, beating the Cardinals, 7-6. Rey Ordońez introduces himself to Mets fans with this amazing throw from his knees to nail a runner at the plate:
Everything you need to know about Opening Day, but were afraid to ask
🧓 by Jeffrey Bellone & Blake Zeff
It’s been a long offseason, we’ve all been stuck inside, staring at our Zoom screens too long. So we thought it’d be a good time to take a step back and answer some key questions as baseball returns tonight:
1) Who the #$%& ended up on the Opening Day roster, in the end? The Mets will start the season without many surprises (or much controversy) on their 26-man roster… unless you really didn’t want to see Robert Gsellman in the back of the bullpen. We put together this handy graphic, stocked with salary and service time information, to give you a broad understanding of the active roster (you can click on it and zoom in):
2) Should I freak out about who got the final roster slots? No. There is a very good chance that the names you see here, especially as you get deeper into the bullpen, will change in the coming weeks (or days). If the Mets find they need another lefty in the pen, Jerry Blevins and Stephen Tarpley could get a call. If they need another starter, it could be Jordan Yamamoto. A veteran righty? Tommy Hunter. And so on. The point is that while we get excited about who made the “Opening Day” roster, it doesn’t really matter that much — besides for getting to be introduced by the announcers on Opening Day and receiving a smattering of obligatory applause you can barely hear on TV.
3) Are we going to have a weird COVID-y season again? The Mets’ first opponent, the Nationals, received a cold reminder that the pandemic is still upon on us. While teams are starting to reach 85 percent vaccination rates, as the general population continues to get their shots, things are still not back to normal.
Unlike last year, when teams were allowed to carry extra players to start the season, there are only 26 on the active roster from the get-go. However, there is no limit on the number of pitchers (usually capped at 13). Clubs are also allowed to carry a taxi squad of five players to help combat the potential sudden loss of players who test positive. RHP Trevor Hildenberger, LHP Stephen Tarpley, INF Jose Peraza, OF Mallex Smith, and C Caleb Joseph are included on the team’s first road trip.
4) Will it be those bizarre cardboard “fans” in the seats again? The Mets will play in front of 5,000 breathing human fans in DC today. New York is allowing over 8,000 fans for the Home Opener next week. You can learn the rules for each major league stadium here.
5) Did the Mets really just lock in Francisco Lindor as their franchise superstar for the next decade? Yes. This is not an April Fool’s Day joke. All the bad ravioli was worth it. One of the best players on earth will be slapping extra base hits, swiping bags, smiling on billboards, distracting runners on second base and making unfathomable grabs in the field for years to come. What this means for 2031 is a question for another day. As is what it means for top prospect Ronny Mauricio, also a shortstop. Just enjoy this one, Mets fans. Steve Cohen can afford it.
6) What is going on with the designated hitter in the National League? If you’re a Mets fan, you probably know this already, since the team’s offseason moves were closely tied to whether a DH would return to the National League or not: There was no late deal to add the extra hitter back, so pitchers will take to the batter’s box at least for one more season.
7) Will there be expanded playoffs? As the owners and players refuse to collectively bargain with each other, the playoff format will return to pre-2020 form with only 10 teams (instead of 16) reaching the postseason in each league.
8) What about that funky extra innings rule? This is one of the rules that will return from last season. A runner will be placed on second base to begin each half-inning in extras, in an effort to keep games from extending too long.
9) And that 7-inning doubleheader rule? This is another rule carried over from 2020. Doubleheader games will only be 7-innings long.
10) Will the Mets hit with runners in scoring position this year? It almost felt like the league made a rule that they couldn’t last year. But with this seemingly slump-proof lineup, there should be plenty of clutch hits.
11) Did I hear the ball itself is different this year? You did. Hopefully, you read about it here. In hopes of bringing some finesse back into the game, Major League Baseball is “deadening” the ball, which independent labs have shown will likely reduce the number of home runs hit this season.
12) Will the Mets be good this year? The computers think so, but what do they know? Projection systems hosted by Baseball Prospectus to FanGraphs to FiveThirtyEight have the Mets as the favorites to win the National League East. They enter the season with a stacked lineup, including a few players primed to have bounce-back campaigns (i.e. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor).
If you’re looking for an area where the projections could be wrong, look to the bullpen. Most see a huge season from Edwin Díaz based on his impressive 2020 statistics, and some are still bullish on Dellin Betances, since they don’t completely account for his fastball decline. While the ceiling is far different for those two players, it shows how you could be convinced that both the top and middle-back of the bullpen has the potential for pitfalls.
It’s also important to remember that the team you will see on TV tonight will not be the same you will see at the end of the season. Expect them to remain aggressive in pursuing upgrades in the trade market. And while health can go either way, if Seth Lugo, Carlos Carrasco, and Noah Syndergaard all return at the top of their games, this could be a very dangerous Mets team by the end of the season.
13) Is that A-Rod on my TV tonight? Yes. ESPN thought it would be fun to torture Mets fans who just want a little Gary, Keith, and Ron back in their lives. So this year’s opening game is on ESPN, and will be called by the man who lost out to Steve Cohen in his bid to own the franchise. Of course, you can always use the ol’ trick of syncing your TV to the radio (or by using the CBS 880 or Audacy apps).
Enjoy the game, and check this space tomorrow where we’ll have all the coverage you need.
⚾️ A.L. Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis of the Mariners, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee bone bruise. He’s not expected to miss much time.
⚾️ The Yankees placed home run leader Luke Voit on the 10-day injured list, after he underwent surgery on his knee this week. He’ll be shut down for at least three weeks before resuming baseball activities, with former Met Jay Bruce taking over first base.
⚾️ The Cubs are reportedly "very confident" they will reach a contract extension with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, despite the slugger saying he does not plan to negotiate during the season.
🔗 Francisco Lindor is worth $341 million — and all the drama, by Ken Davidoff, NY Post: “Steve Cohen landed his first big fish. Lindor broke a record, if not the record. And the Mets can launch their 2021 season in a great frame of mind Thursday night at Nationals Park against the Nationals, gleefully anticipating the hero’s welcome that awaits Lindor at the April 8 home opener. Good for the Mets. Good for Lindor. Good for Major League Baseball.”
🔗 Keith Hernandez, Mike Piazza and Johan Santana have a pretty good idea of what Francisco Lindor is facing, by Tim Healey, Newsday: “Keith Hernandez, who joined the Mets during the 1983 season, knows what this dynamic is like. So do Mike Piazza, the only Hall of Famer in this group, who came to New York in 1998, and Johan Santana, the significant addition heading into 2008. Their shared experience is uncommon, their fraternity tiny. This year, their background and lessons learned are relevant to Lindor, a perennial All-Star shortstop acquired by the Mets in a deal with Cleveland in January.”
🔗 Hernandez and Strawberry. Reyes and Wright. Lindor? by David Waldstein, NY Times ($): “In six seasons with Cleveland, Francisco Lindor showcased a multifaceted set of skills that, packaged underneath an irrepressible passion and an enchanting smile, combined to make him one of the most exciting, charismatic and winning players in baseball. Beginning Thursday, Lindor will [have] a chance to do something even more profound. Given his age, talent and apparent dedication to the sport… [he] has a chance to become the best all-around position player the Mets have ever had. “He could exceed them all,” said Bobby Valentine. “His toolbox has the best set of tools, I think, of anyone who has ever played for the Mets.”
🔗 Inside Zack Scott’s jarring transition to Mets GM, by Deesha Thosar, NY Daily News: “Alderson informed Scott that Jared Porter had just been terminated as Mets GM. Alderson then asked Scott if he could lead the morning meeting. Within moments, Scott went from being the assistant GM to his longtime friend and colleague to suddenly running the show. Scott had only been with his new organization for 27 days at that point. And he only had an hour to digest what had just happened before he led the 9 a.m. meeting.”
And… here’s how the Daily News memorialized last night’s late-breaking news…
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love
the chart !