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First baseman Pete Alonso is a huge fan of Francisco Lindor, the All-Star shortstop the New York Mets acquired this past offseason in a megadeal with the Cleveland Indians. And since Lindor is looking for a new long-term contract with the new franchise he calls home, Alonso decided to speak out on behalf of his new teammate.
On Tuesday, Alonso was asked by a reporter if he believes Lindor is a $400 million baseball player.
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"Absolutely," Alonso responded. "He’s worth every penny."
Alonso continued: "I hope they pay him $400 million."
Earlier in the week, there were multiple reports that Lindor was offered a 10-year, $325 million contract extension, but Lindor and his camp were reportedly looking for a 12-year, $385 million deal.
If he ends up getting what he is asking for, it would be the second-largest contract in MLB history behind Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout’s $426 million extension back in 2019.
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Lindor, who is 27 years old, would be 39 at the end of the sought-after 12-year deal. He has a career slash line of .285/.346/.488 and he hit at least 30 homers in each of the last three full 162-game seasons. Last year, in the shortened season due to COVID-19, Lindor batted .258 and he had eight homers with 27 RBI in only 60 games played.
On Sunday, Lindor had dinner with Mets owner Steve Cohen. Two days later, Cohen tweeted out that he hopes Lindor signs a new deal with the team.
"Lindor is a heckuva player and a great guy. I hope he decides to sign," Cohen wrote.
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Lindor set an Opening Day deadline to get a deal done with the Mets. But if it doesn’t happen, New York will look to work on a contract extension in the offseason. However, if Lindor has an MVP-level worthy season, the Mets would be allowing him to test free agency in the open market.
Lindor is a four-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger winner.