Trade revisited by Francisco Lindor

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here here. And Participate To get it regularly in your inbox.

It is still too early to say who won the Francisco Lindor deal. It may take another decade for the answer to become straightforward and honest, and there may never be a winner. This is a good thing in terms of the teams involved. So far, both clubs seem happy with how the trade is developing.

However, the Guardians’ visit to Citi Field for a three-game series starting Friday provides an opportunity to reflect on the six-player deal that changed the course of both franchises. The trade, which took place in January 2021, looked like this:

Since joining the Mets, Lindor and Carrasco together have accumulated 9.8 bWAR, with Lindor accumulating most of that value. Rosario and Jimenez combined 15.5 bWAR for the Guardians, indicating an early advantage for Cleveland in the trade. However, Wolf and Greene are not factors in it, and they struggle enough to get out of it List of top 30 Cleveland prospects. Each team has made and missed the playoffs once.

“I support them one hundred percent,” Lindor said of his old franchise. “I want nothing but the best for them. But they will obviously play against us, so I will do whatever it takes to beat them.”

After the 2020 season, Lindor found himself embroiled in trade rumors as mid-market guards sought to offload him for a group of young players, knowing he was unlikely to re-sign in free agency. A Cleveland front office member called Lindor early in the offseason to tell him nothing was forthcoming. Then, shortly after New Year’s Eve, Lindor received another call that talks were continuing. Shortly before closing the deal, Lindor learned that he and Carrasco were headed to the Mets.

“I was afraid, because I was going to start over,” Lindor recalled. “But I also felt protected, because I wouldn’t go alone. I knew [the Guardians] He loved me, and wherever I went, I would go to a place where they loved me, too. I was scared, but at the same time, it was exciting.”

Since that time, Lindor has become a pillar of the franchise, making friends with Steve and Alex Cohen, and of course, signing a 10-year, $341 million extension. He calls Manhattan home and has become a connoisseur of the food and arts scenes.

“That was one of the places I wanted to be,” said Lindor.

For the Mets, it’s impossible to categorize the deal without taking into account the stretch that followed. Right now, that seems like an overpayment — in part because of Lindor’s performance, but also because of the changing market factors since he agreed to the terms. Had the Mets waited for Lindor to go into free agency after the 2021 season, they almost certainly would have signed him for cheaper.

But hindsight has a way of changing the complexion of things. Back in March 2021, during Cohen’s first six months as owner, there was huge public pressure on the Mets to make a splash. Signing Lindor seemed the easiest way to do this, which is why Cohen and then-General Manager Zach Scott agreed to Lindor’s wishes.

So, who won the Lindor trade? Still impossible to say but make no mistake: Rosario’s and especially Jimenez’s successes in Cleveland tell only a small part of the story. The history of this trade will always hinge on Lindor, and whether he can bring a championship to New York.

“I expected it to be a tough challenge, but a very rewarding one,” Lindor said. And it was like that. Last year, in the playoffs, I was like, “Yeah. This is what I came here to do. So those little things, that’s the rewarding part of the challenge of coming here.”