Mets: Francisco Lindor trade the blockbuster deal NYM needed to make

The Francisco Lindor trade is the blockbuster deal New York Mets fans were looking for

Thursday morning marked yet another day waking up to no new offseason reports involving the New York Mets. The hot stove was not even lukewarm, as it had been seemingly forever since even the last rumor. But then, it happened … news that a Francisco Lindor trade was all but imminent.

Ever since Steve Cohen purchased the Mets from the Wilpon family months ago, fans have awaited the blockbuster move to establish themselves as a legitimate big-market team. After all, that is what comes with playing in New York and now having the richest owner in the sport.

Shortly after ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that they were in deep talks with the Cleveland Indians for shortstop Francisco Lindor, quickly, details emerged about the rest of the deal. Ultimately, here are the final terms of what could go down as one of the biggest trades in franchise history…

Without a doubt, the headliner of the deal is Francisco Lindor. The 27-year-old shortstop is a four-time All-Star and has won both the AL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger twice. He has been the face of Cleveland baseball since 2016 and is that superstar acquisition the Mets were primed to make entering the offseason.

The biggest question in regard to Lindor was his value given he is due to be a free agent after 2021. Well, Mets fans, do not worry.

In other words, the Mets got their superstar with the hopes to lock him up long-term. And that is not all. Joining him in coming to New York will be starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

The 33-year-old pitcher is coming off of a great 2019 campaign, where he posted a 2.91ERA in 12 starts and a career-high mark of 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Carrasco fills a dire need for starting pitching in New York too.

Carrasco now joins two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman as the locks in the Mets rotation. The team will also presumably be getting Noah Syndergaard back from Tommy John surgery at some point this season. From there, the Mets could fill the rotation out with in-house options such as David Peterson, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, or Robert Gsellman.

Similarly, Lindor gives the Mets an elite bat in the middle of the lineup, as he joins a loaded Mets offense. Lindor has spent most of his career batting first in the order, though spent most of 2020 batting third. The Mets now have Lindor joining Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil as candidates to leadoff.

Now, with the Robinson Cano trade still fresh in fan’s minds, any fan was concerned as to what the Mets would give up. Andres Gimenez was the first name listed, which is understandable, giving up a promising second-year shortstop in return for arguably the best in baseball.

The second name to appear is right-hand pitcher Josh Wolf, the team’s 2019 second-round pick and ninth-ranked prospect by MLB. From there, he was joined by their 10th ranked prospect in 2020 second-round pick, centerfielder Isaiah Greene. Both have good upside, though are years away from the majors. Obviously, with the Cano trade in mind, the concern was would the Mets need to give up their top prospects.

Luckily, they did not. The final piece to the trade was shortstop Amed Rosario. The 25-year-old Rosario is set to enter his fifth year in the league and is coming off of a disappointing season in 2020. It makes sense that both he and Gimenez were dealt, given they both would have been competing for a shortstop position now taken by Lindor.

Additionally, the expectation of a long-term deal for Lindor is fueled by both being dealt. After all, why trade two young MLB level shortstops with years of control for a superstar that would only be on the team for a year.

Ultimately, this trade signifies the Steve Cohen-era of New York baseball has arrived. This is a young and hungry team looking to prove themselves.

Mets fans, get ready… this year is going to be a fun one.