Mets: Fernando Tatis Jr. contract raises the price, urgency on a Francisco Lindor extension

The San Diego Padres are spending the way we thought Steve Cohen would with the New York Mets this winter. On Wednesday, they reportedly agreed to a 14-year deal worth $340 million with their star shortstop.

As many have noted, Tatis has yet to even play a full 162-game season. A big gamble with massive potential to pay off well down the line, the Padres just raised the price on Francisco Lindor.

Lindor is older than Tatis therefore closer to retirement so we shouldn’t expect him to get a similar deal. It’s the average annual value (or AAV as the kids LOVE to call it these days) that may have ticked up a little higher this week.

Mets cannot wait around to extend Francisco Lindor

The amount of money Tatis will receive is sickening. It’s Disney princess cash. It’s enough where his Fernando Tatis VII won’t have to work a day in his life if the money is invested well.

Lindor’s big contract should conceivably look just as fat as Tatis’ in some regards. The $300 million threshold is not out of the question by any means. If the Amazins want to keep him in New York, it’s the price they will have to pay.

The front office doesn’t have to react immediately to this deal. It probably benefits them more to wait a little closer to Opening Day when this deal is a little less fresh in our minds. Regardless of when it gets done, the longer they wait the more it’s going to cost them. No one knows about finances, the power of inflation, and liquid cash more than Cohen.

The starting point for a long-term relationship with Francisco Lindor

The general consensus seems to be that the starting point for an extension with Lindor is a 10-year deal worth $300 million. You don’t need a calculator to see the AAV comes to $30 million—matching the contract Manny Machado got from the Padres not too long ago.

If there are any concerns Mets fans should have it should be in regards to the front office’s behavior this winter. While they did bid on a lot of players, they had a price they would not go over. Perhaps they would make an exception for a player of Lindor’s abilities.

Letting Lindor go into the season without a long-term deal is a major risk for this organization. Who would have thought the Padres would have a pair of $300 million contracts on the books?

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All it takes is one team willing to pay a superstar price for a superstar player to snatch him away. When things finally do get back to whatever the new normal is and fans are back in the seats, there’s no telling who the mystery team ready to spend might be.