Lindor goes to bat for Conforto
As he settles into his Mets tenure, Francisco Lindor has been both the benefactor and giver of advice on big contracts and calling New York home.
The incoming insight has come from his good friend and countryman Carlos Beltran, who knows a thing or two about playing in New York on a hefty contract. The outgoing encouragement has gone to teammate Michael Conforto, whose lack of an extension has lingered over his slow start to the season.
After signing a 10-year, $341 million extension before playing his first game in a Mets uniform, Lindor and his fiancée, Katia, recently met with Beltran and his wife, Jessica, to help them find a place to live in New York. Beltran, the former Mets outfielder (and briefly manager) who once signed a seven-year, $119 million contract with the club — then the largest deal in franchise history — has also given Lindor advice on playing on a big deal.
“He said be yourself, be real to yourself and to other people, be accountable in everything you do,” Lindor said. “Just enjoy it. You’re in a great city. There’s great momentum in the organization, so have fun, go out there and give everything you got every single day.”
Though he’s still only a handful of games into his Mets career, Lindor has also been able to dish out some valuable insight to a teammate who has been here much longer. While Lindor set a hard deadline of Opening Day for extension talks, thus becoming the Mets’ main focus before then, a potential deal for Conforto will seemingly take a longer process.
Conforto has struggled to start the season, but Lindor has encouraged him and is hopeful a deal will eventually come to fruition.
“I told him, ‘You’re a good ballplayer,’ ” Lindor said. “He’s going to put up the numbers. At the end of the year, the numbers will be there no matter what. If he continues to stay healthy, the numbers will be there for sure. Enjoy this process. Don’t worry about what’s going to happen. He’s one of the leaders in the Mets organization.
“So he’s going to get paid at some point. He’s going to get what he deserves and what God has for him. So enjoy every single day. We’re early in the season. There’s a lot of things that can happen.
“I’m looking forward to the day he actually, God-willing he does sign here, and I can say he’s going to be a teammate of mine for a very long time.”