Lindor quickly proving to Mets he’s as much a leader as a key player
infielders, particularly J.D. Davis.
Lindor noticed Davis wasn’t using his “good hands” in a way that would benefit his fielding at third base. The shortstop said Davis was “putting himself in bad positions where his hands weren’t allowing him to become a good infielder.” Davis accepted Lindor’s advice, and the team quickly began to see a difference in his defense. Lindor credited Davis for working hard and sticking with his practice because defensive drills can become monotonous and boring.
His willingness to be outgoing, provide feedback and keep his teammates on their toes has especially impressed Rojas, given how little time Lindor has known the club.
“Coming into a new organization, his first time in a different organization, and he’s acting like he’s home,” Rojas said.
The Mets don’t want all the work Lindor put in with his new teammates and coaches to go to waste. The club certainly does not want to see him walk away after just one year, as he’s set to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Really, the Mets would not have given up four players (Rosario, Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene) to Cleveland if they weren’t committed to keeping Lindor in Queens long-term.
Contract extension talks are imminent, Mets team president Sandy Alderson said on Monday.
Lindor has expressed he does not want contract negotiations to trickle beyond Opening Day, after which he wants to focus solely on getting the Mets to the playoffs. He also wants the organization to get to know him better, and vice versa. That gives Alderson, general manager Zack Scott and the Mets a one-month deadline to open conversations with Lindor’s agency, SportsMeter.
Alderson said the team is mindful that it will attempt to sign Lindor long-term before he has even played a single regular-season game for the Mets.
“Francisco has said that he doesn’t want to negotiate after the season starts. So we’ve taken that at face value,” Alderson said. “We’ll make every effort to see what can be done on that end. On the other end, if things don’t work out between now and the end of spring training, we’ll figure out a way, I think hopefully, to continue to communicate.
“But I think at this point we have to honor what Francisco has asked, and that is to try to do something before the end of spring training. And we will do that. Whether it actually happens or not remains to be seen. But we’ll try to meet that timetable as best as we can.”
A major life event hangs in the balance while the Mets try to begin contract negotiations. Lindor proposed to his now fiancée, Katia
Reguero, in December. The couple also welcomed their first daughter in 2020. Lindor said the start of his day includes waking up next to Reguero and his newborn daughter, which gets him pumped up for his Mets practice.
The next step for Lindor — a potential contract extension — will decide where his daughter grows up and when his family can settle down.
“I’ve got to get married. That’s very important,” Lindor said. “Knowing where is going to be home for the next however many years, it’s going to be huge. We’ll see how everything goes. I just live life on a daily basis, but I’m living the dream, and it feels pretty damn good.”