Lindor contract extension watch ongoing

Mets spring training is over. Francisco Lindor Contract Extension Watch 2021 is not.

With about two days left until the Lindor-imposed deadline for the sides to agree to a deal, Lindor and the Mets remained far apart in those talks as of late Monday night, a source said.

The Mets offered their shortstop $325 million over 10 years, numbers characterized by the team as its “best and final” offer, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. But Lindor, 27, already has told them no. The counteroffer from Lindor’s camp, the source said: $385 million over 12 years.

“Lindor is a heckuva player and a great guy,” owner Steve Cohen tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “I hope he decides to sign.”

That is a slightly smaller average annual value but a longer term and a significantly higher total dollar commitment. It would be the second-largest contract in MLB history behind

Mike Trout’s 12 years and $426.5 million.

That is the context in which the Mets headed to Washington on Monday evening, camp concluded with a 3-3 tie with the Cardinals. They will work out at Nationals Park on Tuesday and open the season against the Nationals on Thursday, the start of Cohen’s first season as owner.

Cohen, though, has some other business to tend to before then. Lindor has said he will not negotiate once Opening Day arrives. If he isn’t locked up by then, he is content to go to free agency after the season, he has said since January.

“We have a deadline Mar 31, today is the 29th,” Cohen tweeted Monday in response to a fan asking if a Lindor extension will happen. “It either will or won’t in the next two days.”

Another fan chimed in: “This is not as funny as I think you think it is.”

“I’m not being funny, it’s the absolute truth,” wrote Cohen, who had dinner with Lindor on Saturday. “If I knew the answer, I would report it.”