francisco lindor

New York Mets: Lindor Hits Fourth Homer in Five Games During 5-3 Win

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The New York Mets are getting exactly what they traded for with Francisco Lindor‘s production this spring. Lindor has his best game of spring training by recording three hits, including his fourth home run. His strong game helped propel the Mets to a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Marcus Stroman got the start and scattered nine hits over five innings. He was tagged for two home runs, but the umpires bailed Stroman out both times. Starling Marte‘s double hit the chain-link fence behind the right field wall and bounced back in play. Brian Anderson hit a towering shot over the left field foul pole that was called a foul ball. Instead of a three-run homer, Anderson struck out to end the inning instead.

In the third inning, Adam Duvall‘s sacrifice fly gave the Marlins their first run. Miguel Rojas recorded the final two runs with his two-run homer in the fifth inning as Stroman limped to the finish line. The quartet of Jacob Barnes, Aaron Loup, Trevor May, and Tommy Hunter finished the game with four hitless innings.

After Marlins starter Daniel Castano retired the first six batters he faced, the Mets came out swinging in the third inning. Triples from Kevin Pillar and Brandon Nimmo led to the first run of the inning. Francisco Lindor’s double drove in Nimmo, and a sharp single from Pete Alonso capped off the three-run third. Lindor’s fifth inning homer put the Mets in the lead, and another homer from J.D. Davis in the sixth gave their fifth run.

On Wednesday, Taijuan Walker (1-0, 3.00) takes the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter. The offense gets another opportunity to afflict more damage on Carlos Martinez (0-2, 10.03) and his ERA as he starts for the Cards.

Mets’ legend Mike Piazza about potential Francisco Lindor extension: ‘If it’s meant to be, he’s going to be here’

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New York yankees, Francisco Lindor

In January, the New York Mets acquired superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, together with pitcher Carlos Carrasco, from the Cleveland Indians, surrendering young shortstops Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario plus two prospects.

Lindor only has a year left of team control for the Mets, which is 2021. After the season, he will become a free agent and can negotiate with any team… unless the Mets can hammer out a contract extension. A deal has to get done before the start of the season, as Lindor prefers to focus on playing once the calendar flips to April.

If there is someone who knows and understands the situation in which Lindor is currently involved, that’s Mets’ legend Mike Piazza. In 1998, when he was in his prime, he landed in Queens via trade, just like Lindor. And, like the shortstop, he was a few months short of free agency when he did.

Piazza wasn’t convinced of making New York his long-term home at first, but the city grew on him. He, according to MLB.com’s Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo, adjusted his view to see the whole scenario as a challenge.

And, just a few weeks after the 1998 season, Piazza committed his future to the Mets in a seven-year, $91 million contract. He went on to become a Hall of Famer.

Piazza visited the Mets’ complex and talked to Lindor

“It wasn’t until about the end of August where I started really saying, ‘I can do this. I’m meant to be here, and I have to follow through on this,’” Piazza recalled Monday from Port St. Lucie, Fla., during his annual visit to Spring Training. “Things worked out.”

Piazza had a conversation with Lindor in the Mets’ complex. The former catcher recalled that the shortstop would have to get comfortable in the city and with the team before committing his future.

“There’s a spiritual component to it,” Piazza said. “[Lindor] has got to go out and get comfortable, and the fact that he has such a good team around him is important as well. For me, there was also the human element. … We were at a time with the team where we knew they were trying to win, so we were going to put some pieces in place to try to make that happen. So that’s my only advice for him: Just go out and play. Go out and play, put your numbers up, and if it’s meant to be, he’s going to be here.”

Mets Make Their First Offers to Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor

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The New York Mets are hoping to secure their future success, and the first job is keeping Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto. They made their first contract extension offers to their young stars, but all parties are long from agreeing on details.

The Mets offered Lindor below $300 million, but his camp went well over that mark. Lindor certainly deserves a contract near Fernando Tatis Jr.’s, and Steve Cohen will go there to make an extension happen. The Mets traded too much for Lindor to become a one-year rental. Even if it results in a World Series title, the front office cannot let their shortstop for the next decade slip away.

Conforto’s deal will take a lot more work, thanks to Scott Boras in his corner. Boras clients are notorious for refusing extensions so they can earn large sums in free agency. Plenty notable stars did sign long-term extensions in the past but it does not happen often. Very little details regarding any offers have been released and Conforto has been silent on any talks.

Lindor made it clear that he will not talk an extension after spring training but Conforto has not set a time limit. Conforto’s track record is not as illustrious as Lindor’s and Boras clients are known to negotiate at anytime. It is also notable to remember than Jacob deGrom’s extension came just a couple days before the season started.

This occurred with the Mets version of dumb and dumber (Brodie Van Wagenen and Jeff Wilpon) running things and David Wright stepping in to help broker a deal. With a completely new owner and front office, Mets fans should have confidence in both players remaining in Flushing.

 

Walker Superb, Lindor Hits Grand Slam in Mets 8-5 Win Over Cards

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Taijuan Walker became a bigger part of the New York Mets rotation after Carlos Carrasco‘s hamstring injury. He took the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals and was tremendous in the Mets 8-5 victory.

Walker made it look easy in his second start of the spring. He only allowed one hit over four innings and struck out three Cardinals. Walker needed just 50 pitches to get through his outing, and his slider was his best pitch.

The offense tormented Carlos Martinez once again as they tagged him for five runs in three innings. Pete Alonso continued to scorch the ball with a first inning RBI double to drive in Brandon Nimmo. The double was Alonso’s fifth of the spring and moved his average to .400.

In the second, Tomas Nido flicked a home run over the right field fence with the help of the Florida wind. The bulk of the scoring came in a five-run fifth when J.D. Davis beat the throw home on a fielder’s choice for the first run. Francisco Lindor capped off the inning with a grand-slam which made it a 7-0 game. Jerry Blevins put up a scoreless top half of the inning to relieve Walker.

In the eighth, Johneshy Fargas recorded a hustle triple, then scored on an error from third baseman Evan Mendoza to drive in a run. Jeff McNeil had some tough luck as he was hit by a pitch three times in three different spots. Luckily, none resulted in any injuries.

Oswalt Struggles

Corey Oswalt took over for the sixth and allowed plenty of hard contact. Oswalt allowed a two-run homer to Max Moroff and an RBI double before Trevor Hildenberger cleaned up the mess. He got an opportunity to redeem himself in the seventh inning thanks to the spring training rules. Oswalt pitched a 1-2-3 inning but lost it again in the eighth. He allowed another two-run homer to push his line to five runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. Daniel Zamora closed out the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Saturday is a day off before Jacob deGrom takes the mound against the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach on Sunday. For the first time, pitchers will bat, allowing deGrom ready for his first plate appearances since 2019. Hopefully, the Mets wrap deGrom in bubble wrap to prevent any other injuries to their rotation.

 

 

Mets: Francisco Lindor doesn’t want contract negotiations to extend into the regular season

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New York Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor, who hit his first home run of the 2021 spring training on Wednesday, talked with the press about his ongoing contract negotiations, as the team intends to lock him up and keep him in Queens for a long time.

The Mets send shortstops Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez plus a couple of prospects to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for the All-Star shortstop plus starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco back in January.

“I will not be negotiating during the season,” Lindor said. “I will go to free agency if something carries on during the season. It’s not fair for me. It’s not fair for the team. I’ve got to give everything I’ve got into winning baseball games, so if it doesn’t happen in Spring Training, I’ll go to free agency and we’ll talk in November.”

Before Lindor’s remarks, the Mets had implied that the start of the season was a soft deadline to get a deal done with Lindor, but the infielder has made it a hard one: he will not enter negotiations during the regular campaign.

The Mets and Lindor want to get something done before the season

Lindor made it clear that it will be his agent the one tasked with the responsibility of delivering the best possible contract for him and his family.

The Mets would also like to get something done before the season, so it is possible that Lindor is extended in the upcoming days.

Speaking of his play on the field, the Mets’ star began the spring on a 0-for-7 skid, but is now on a 5-for-15 hot streak that includes his Tuesday homer against the Houston Astros.

“It felt great to be able to pull the baseball in the correct way,” he said. “In Spring Training, engines are just starting to run. So I was just happy I was able to pull the baseball the correct way.”

Diaz (Not Edwin) Blows Save in Mets 3-2 Walk-Off Loss to Marlins

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The New York Mets sent Joey Lucchesi to make his first start of the spring, and he headlined a game marked by pitching. In the 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins, Met fans had traumatic flashbacks of a “Diaz” allowing a walk-off home run.

Lucchesi was incredible as he continues to make his case to earn a starting spot. He pitched three hitless innings and struckout four Marlins. Through five innings, Lucchesi has only allowed three walks and punched out seven. Robert Gsellman followed with two innings out of the bullpen and his only blemish was a Jazz Chisholm solo homer.

Yennsy Diaz got the opportunity to record the save but a leadoff walk spelled trouble in the ninth. Joe Dunand made him pay with a line-drive two-run homer to walk it off for the Marlins. Dunand has put together a nice spring training. He is 5-for-17 with two home runs and six runs batted in.

The Mets bats were quiet after an impressive offensive output against the Houston Astros. Albert Almora provided the lone runs with his double in the fifth inning. Three of his five hits this spring have gone for extra bases. Francisco Lindor talked about finally getting into a good hitting position during Monday’s game and it continued to carry over. Lindor recorded two more hits to get his batting average up to .280.

The Washington Nationals venture into Clover Park for a 1:10 p.m. ET start on SNY. Jon Lester makes his first spring training start against Marcus Stroman (1-0, 3.24 ERA).

New York Mets Club Three Home Runs in 8-3 Win Over Astros

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The New York Mets put all of their valuable assets on display against the Houston Astros. Jacob deGrom had another dominant outing, and the offense pushed across eight runs in an 8-3 victory.

deGrom pitched four innings, allowed one run, and struck out six. His fastball did not quite reach 102 again, but he sat in the 100-101 range. deGrom also showed his best slider of the spring, which resulted in plenty of swings and misses. The one run allowed came on a high home run from Jeremy Pena, which bounced off the top of the left-field fence.

Jeurys Familia struggled with his control again but worked out of a bases-loaded jam to complete a scoreless outing. Dellin Betances was the victim of an unlucky bloop double with two outs that resulted in two runs. It should have resulted in an out, but Brandon Nimmo played Taylor Jones like Hank Aaron. The weak double ballooned Betances spring ERA to 13.50.

Trevor May bounced back from a couple of rough outings to strike out three in his one inning of work. Miguel Castro and Sam McWilliams finished off the eighth and ninth to give the Mets a win.

Hit Parade

It was all hands on deck for the Mets offense as five different hitters. Dominic Smith‘s three-run home run put the Mets on the board in the third inning. The homer was another example of his unique ability to wait back on the breaking ball. In the fifth, Pete Alonso took a high fastball and drove it into the left-field picnic area.

The third Mets homer came from Francisco Lindor. His no-doubter was his first homer as a Met and second hit of the day. Brandon Nimmo’s single and Jeff McNeil‘s double drove in the other two Mets runs.

On Wednesday, Joey Lucchesi (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first start of the spring against Sandy Alcantara (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and the Miami Marlins. The road game for the Mets begins at 1:05 p.m. ET from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

 

Mets Play Ugly Defense for the Second Straight Game in 9-5 Loss to Nats

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The New York Mets pitching join their defensive struggles in a 9-5 loss against the Washington Nationals. Judging by the tweets and few videos from the game, the Mets should be thankful this game was not televised.

Jordan Yamamoto got the start for the Mets, and his first-inning cost him a good outing. After retiring the first two batters, an error and walk gave the Nats a free opportunity to score. Ryan Zimmerman and Kyle Schwarber tagged him for RBI singles to give them an early 2-0 lead. Yamamoto would pitch two scoreless innings to finish his outing.

Dellin Betances followed him and fell victim to the two-out rally as well. A double from Starlin Castro led to a throwing error from third baseman J.D. Davis and allowed him to score. Betances fastball was in the 91 mph range but peaked at 94 mph.

Matt Allan continued the trend of two-out runs by allowing three (one earned) during his one inning of work. An RBI single led to the first run, then an error from Jake Hager at second base allowed the Nats to drive in another two. Robert Gsellman was the only pitcher who kept the Nationals off the board with his scoreless inning.

Francisco Lindor finally broke the seal with his first two hits as a member of the Mets. It comes on the same day the Mets announced negotiations will begin for a long-term deal. Mark Vientos was the other Met with multiple hits as he recorded two doubles. Jake Hager recorded the biggest hit with a three-run homer, his second home run of the spring. Hager only has two hits in spring training, and both are via the long ball.

The Mets head back to Port St. Lucie to face the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:10 p.m. Taijuan Walker makes his Mets debut against Carlos Martinez (0-1, 32.40 ERA), and it will be televised on SNY.

 

Mets: Francisco Lindor extension talks expected to begin “in earnest” this week

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With three major stars hitting free agency after the 2021 season, the New York Mets have some work to do if they want to build a sustainable winner for 2022 and beyond. Shortstop Francisco Lindor, pitcher Noah Syndergaard, and outfielder Michael Conforto are all playing the last year of their respective deals, and are expected to test the market in October unless they reach an agreement to stay in Queens long-term.

Of the three, perhaps Lindor should be the number one priority given that he came via trade just a few weeks ago and the Mets would want to justify the assets that they gave away and sign him to a blockbuster deal to make the All-Star shortstop the face of the franchise for years to come.

So far, the Mets like what they have seen from Lindor: a player who works hard on and off the field and tries to motivate and help his teammates to be better players. His energy in the clubhouse is unmatched, day in and day out.

The Mets want Lindor for the long haul

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Lindor and the Mets are expected to begin extension talks “in earnest” this week.

Per Heyman, the Mets and Lindor’s representatives have Opening Day (April 1) as a kind of a “soft deadline”, meaning that they would like a deal done by then but is by no means a necessity. That would give the team a little over three weeks to get Lindor’s signature in a long-term pact, which seems reasonable.

Neither side would like talks to extend into the regular season, so it’s possible that they are able to hammer out a deal.

Lindor’s on-field performance has been excellent over the course of his career despite a slightly down 2020 season.

He has a career .285/.346/.488 line with a .351 wOBA and a 118 wRC+. Last season with the Cleveland Indians, he hit .258/.335/.415 with eight homers and six steals.

FOCO’s Francisco Lindor Good Morning Neighbor Bobblehead

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Coming 2 America releases today, and FOCO has New York Mets fans covered with a crossover they will love. Their new bobblehead of Francisco Lindor has the vibrant shortstop wearing the same jacket Eddie Murphy dawns in the movie.

The bobblehead is $50 and is available today. It features Lindor’s radiant smile and colorful hair/glove combination on the balcony where Murphy shouts, “good morning, neighbors!” The bobblehead is inspired by Lindor wearing the iconic Mets jacket from the movie last week. The 4-time All-Star and platinum glove winner has given Mets fans plenty to be excited about. Make sure to move quickly to get your unique Lindor bobblehead before it sells out!