Mets Avoid Arbitration With Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto

The New York Mets tied up most of their loose ends on the arbitration front on Friday evening, agreeing to terms with newly-acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor and outfielder Michael Conforto, avoiding arbitration hearings with both players.

Per reports (Mark Feinsand, MLB.com, Anthony DiComo, MLB.com), Lindor will receive $22.3 million in 2021 and Conforto will earn $12.25 million.

Lindor and Conforto, both 27, are candidates to receive multi-year extensions from the Mets ahead of the 2022 offseason when both are due to hit the open market as free agents.

The Mets acquired Lindor — along with right-hander Carlos Carrasco — from Cleveland on January 7 in exchange for infielders Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, and prospects Josh Wolf (2019 second-rounder, right-hander) and Isaiah Greene (2020 compensation pick, outfielder).

During Lindor’s introductory press conference, the dynamic shortstop noted he’d be open to signing an extension with the Mets, yet hasn’t discussed anything with the team. The general consensus on salary figures has Lindor netting over $30 million per year in his new deal.

Conforto and the Mets are reportedly open to discussing a contract extension, as noted by DiComo in December (MLB.com), but, by all accounts, those wheels haven’t begun turning yet either.

Besides J.D. Davis — who will be heading to an arbitration hearing with the Mets next month after being unable to come to an agreement on Friday — every other arbitration-eligible player on New York’s roster agreed to terms with the Mets on respective one-year deals.

Jacob Resnick of Metsmerized shared the complete list of settlements on Twitter Friday evening.

Full #Mets arbitration settlements:

Barnes – $750K
Castro – $1.7M
Conforto – $12.3M
Davis – Did not settle
Díaz – $7M
Gsellman – $1.3M
Heredia – $1M
Lindor – $22.3M
Lugo – $2.9M
Matz – $5.2M
Nimmo – $4.7M
Smith – $2.6M
Syndergaard – $9.8M

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) January 15, 2021

With a large contingent of the Mets active roster now spoken for, contractually, for the 2021 season ($71.4 million in total committed to arbitration-eligible players; $54.7 million on Friday, alone), all that’s left is filling out the rest of the gaps.

We’ll keep you posted with any new information as it becomes available.