The New York Mets are about to make the move of the offseason, as they are in very advanced conversations with the Cleveland Indians to acquire star shortstop Francisco Lindor, according to ESPN Jeff Passan. The deal is being finalized.
“The New York Mets are deep into talks on a deal to acquire Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians, sources tell ESPN,” Passan tweeted on Thursday.
However, that is not all! According to Mark Feinsand, the Mets will also be getting Carlos Carrasco from the Indians in the Lindor deal.
According to Tim Healey fo Newsday, the Mets will get Lindor and Carrasco, while the Indians are acquiring Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene.
Mets’ president Sandy Alderson had previously stated, over the winter, that the team would prioritize free agent acquisitions before the trade market. However, he also left the door open to acquiring talent already on other teams’ rosters.
The Mets are getting two stars!
Lindor, 27, makes sense for the Mets if they are able to sign him to an extension, as 2021 will be the last season of team control for him. He will hit the market after the 2021 World Series ends.
Lindor, one of the best shortstops in MLB, played all 60 games with Cleveland last season. In 266 plate appearances, he hit 8 home runs and hit .258/.335/.415 with a 100 wRC+. It was a subpar campaign by his lofty standards, but his defense and baserunning pushed his fWAR up to 1.7.
In his career, Lindor has slashed .285/.346/.488 with a 118 wRC+ and has 28.9 career fWAR.
Carrasco, meanwhile, will greatly improve the Mets’ rotation. In 12 starts and 68 innings, he had a 2.91 ERA and a 3.59 FIP, with a 10.85 K/9 and a 3.57 BB/9.
Carrasco would give the Mets a formidable rotation and would join Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, Noah Syndergaard, and David Peterson as options for manager Luis Rojas for the 2021 season.