Mets sign Francisco Lindor to 10-year, $341 million extension, per report

The Mets are reportedly in agreement with four-time All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor on a 10-year, $341 million extension. The extra $1 million added onto the deal means that Lindor will receive the richest contract for a shortstop in major league history and the third-biggest in the history of the sport behind Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, surpassing the 14-year, $340 million extension that Fernando Tatis Jr. signed with the Padres earlier this spring. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman was the first to report news of the deal on Wednesday night.

Lindor’s deal includes roughly $50 million in deferrals, as well as a partial no-trade clause, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. The extension begins in 2022, so factoring in Lindor’s $22.3 million salary for this season, he’s set to earn $362.3 million over 11 years, though that amount is obviously in jeopardy if a labor dispute impacts the 2022 season following the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement this winter.

Lindor, 27, provides an elite mix of power, speed, and defensive skills at shortstop. While plenty of players struggled under unusual circumstances last season, he will need to prove that he’s better than his 2020 numbers, which were merely OK. He hit .258/.335/.415 with eight homers and six steals over an AL-high 266 plate appearances — solid numbers, but not the numbers you’d expect from a $341 million player.

The Lindor signing does signify that new owner Steve Cohen is willing to pay top dollar in free agency to add elite talent to the organization — something that certainly wasn’t the norm when the Wilpon family owned the Mets, and something that Mets fans were still uncertain about with Cohen after the club had a somewhat underwhelming offseason and took the Lindor negotations down to the wire.