Mets, Francisco Lindor agree to historic $341 million extension

WASHINGTON — Francisco Lindor and the Mets have a deal.

Late Wednesday night, on the eve of Opening Day, they agreed to a 10-year, $341-million contract extension, a source said, solidifying the superstar shortstop’s status as a cornerstone and face of the franchise for a generation — before he has even played a game for the Mets.

What is by far the biggest move of Steve Cohen’s five months of team ownership is also by far the richest contract in club history, more than double the previous record, held by David Wright. He got $138 million over eight years in a deal signed after the 2012 season, a year before he would have been a free agent.

Lindor’s contract is the third-largest in MLB history and the top deal for a shortstop, edging out the $340 million that the Padres gave Fernando Tatis Jr. earlier this year. The only bigger contracts belong to the Angels' Mike Trout ($462.5 million, 12 years) and the Dodgers' Mookie Betts ($365 million, 12 years).

The deal, which is added to his $22.3 million contract for this season, runs through the 2031 season. Lindor, 27, will be 38.

Lindor was scheduled was scheduled to hit the open market after the 2021 season. The Mets didn’t let him get there. Whether the sides would agree on a new deal — widely assumed from the start to end up being at least $300 million — was the biggest storyline of spring training. Lindor imposed a deadline of Opening Day, and the Mets met it — barely.

The Mets began negotiating with Lindor and his agent, David Meter, in mid-March. On March 16, Lindor said the talks were "nothing serious." On Saturday, Cohen — in town for his usual weekend visit to Mets camp — and Lindor had dinner.

Then a stalemate ensued. The Mets offered 10 years, $325 million, a source said this week. Lindor countered at 12 years, $385 million. The staring contest ended Wednesday night, about an hour before the calendar flipped to Opening Day.

Lindor joined the Mets alongside righthander Carlos Carrasco in January via trade from Cleveland. The Mets parted with four players for the pair: shortstop Andres Gimenez, shortstop Amed Rosario (since turned into a centerfielder), outfield prospect Isaiah Greene and righthander prospect Josh Wolf.

Mets officials insisted from the start they were comfortable paying that price for potentially just the one year of Lindor (and two or three years of Carrasco). They planned to pursue a contract extension, but if they didn’t spend big money on Lindor, they could always spend it on someone else, they said.

But in the eyes of a fan base weary and leery after the Wilpons’ reign, wanting to be excited by the Cohen era, the blockbuster trade was at risk of looking immeasurably worse had Lindor reached free agency and signed elsewhere.

Lindor is a four-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover and two-time Silver Slugger. He broke into the majors at age 21 in 2015, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Houston’s Carlos Correa (a star shortstop and pending free agent whose spring-training contract talks with his team did not result in a deal).

In four full major-league seasons, Lindor has averaged 30 home runs and 20 steals. He is a lifetime .285 hitter with a .346 OBP and .488 slugging percentage.

Michael Conforto seems not to be meeting the same fate, at least so far. A homegrown leader and fan favorite, Conforto, too, discussed an extension with the Mets this year, but there has been no indication talks have gotten serious. He is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason.

Conforto said that "ideally" his negotiations wouldn’t continue into the regular season, leaving the door open for them to do so, unlike Lindor, who took a more hard-line stance.