Darryl Strawberry doesn’t begrudge Francisco Lindor for turning down $325 million. But as someone who played out his free-agency year as a Met under intense scrutiny in 1990 before signing a $20 million deal with the Dodgers, he just hopes Lindor is prepared for what could be ahead of him.
“I think for me it was a little different,” Strawberry said by phone. “I was a homegrown player, so I understood what it was like to play in New York. And the Mets didn’t make me a legitimate offer going into that final season, so I felt like the fans were with me.
“I don’t know how it will play out for this young man. He’s obviously very talented and he has a right to make as much money as he can. I just know that a lot of players come to New York and don’t realize the expectations are real, and they’re very high and deep. It’s a place where fans are like, ‘Show me. Show me every night.’
“It’s a big difference playing in Cleveland compared to New York, especially in his situation. The media will be focused on him like they were with me going into free agency. If he doesn’t sign, I don’t know if he realizes what he’ll have to deal with, day in and day out.”
Strawberry thrived under the pressure of playing for a huge contract, putting up one of his best seasons in 1990, hitting 37 home runs with 108 RBI, finishing third in the NL MVP voting. That led to him getting a five-year, $20.25 million contract with his hometown Dodgers, when the Mets wouldn’t go beyond four years with their offer.
And though Strawberry only had one strong year in LA before his well-chronicled drug problems sent his career into a spiral, the Mets received most of the criticism at the time for not trying harder to re-sign their star right fielder, all the more so when their idea of essentially replacing him with Vince Coleman proved disastrous.
That’s not the case with Lindor, at least at the moment. The Mets’ offer of 10 years, $325 million, as first reported by SNY’s Andy Martino, is viewed around baseball as “in his market-value sweet spot,” as a rival team executive told me on Tuesday.
However, Lindor countered by asking for 12 years, $385 million, which is $20 million more than the 12 years, $365 million that Mookie Betts received in his mega-deal with the Dodgers last summer.
If you’re comparing the two players, Betts is regarded as the better offensive player, while Lindor plays a more premium position. But much of Lindor’s value is his defense at shortstop, which doesn’t figure to be elite in his late 30s.
“That’s the rub going to 12 years,” the team exec said. “How long will he be able to play a quality shortstop? You can argue that living with the back end of the contract is the price you pay for locking up a superstar, but on the Mets’ side I would argue that no other team is going to give him a 12-year deal as a free agent.”