Francisco Lindor expands on Mets' pursuit of Yankees' Juan Soto

Francisco Lindor raised some eyebrows when he recently acknowledged that it would be "fantastic" and "help us a lot" if the Mets could steal All-Star outfielder Juan Soto from the Yankees in free agency. 

Lindor expanded on Soto's uncertain future during a midweek chat with MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 

"What I said about Soto is that I would love for him to break every [financial] record out there," Lindor explained. "I would love him to go out there and get what he deserves. If he’s with us, amazing. If he’s with somebody else, amazing, too, as long as he gets what he deserves." 

Soto reportedly wants to reset the market for position players, as he's in the middle of a career-best season and will turn just 26 years old in October. For a piece published on Aug. 15, Jon Heyman of the New York Post shared that at least one "expert" believes Soto's next contract could be worth  $600M across 12 years. ESPN's Jeff Passan later reported that "high-ranking front office and ownership-level sources believe the winter for Soto is going to play out like this: Yankees versus Mets."

Lindor told Rosenthal, "It’s nice" that individuals within the Mets, such as big-spending team owner Steve Cohen, "take players' input" regarding decisions such as essentially handing Soto a blank check. With that said, Lindor also left no doubt that he trusts Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, to make the right long-term moves for the organization. 

"I don’t want it to come down to my decision," Lindor said about Cohen paying Soto. "When this organization makes decisions, I want them to be data-driven but also [to come from] listening to many other people, not just me. That’s not how an organization should be run." 

Cohen possesses the financial power to outspend any other MLB owner, including the Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner, for a single player. Soto seemingly loves representing the Bronx Bombers, but it's a safe bet that agent Scott Boras will want to hear what Cohen says about the slugger's services once Soto becomes a free agent following the World Series.