More reasons Mets will likely make this Francisco Lindor trade deadline decision

A recent update indicated that the New York Mets would not shop fan-favorite Francisco Lindor ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline because "teams might not exactly line up for a shortstop showing some decline" who turns 33 years old this fall and "is owed $160M through 2031." 

For a piece published on Thursday, Danny Abriano of SNY added his name to the noteworthy list of baseball community members who believe Lindor will still be with the Mets on the morning of Aug. 4.

Mets don't need to be in a rush to trade Francisco Lindor

"A relatively rough first 40 games for Lindor, whose season was interrupted for two months because of a calf injury, has apparently led to people forgetting that he was an MVP-level player for the Mets from 2022 to 2025," Abriano wrote. "Beyond that, the Mets would be selling incredibly low if they dealt Lindor now. Depending on the return, they could also be creating a massive hole in their lineup ahead of an offseason where the free agent crop isn't very enticing."

The fact that the last-place Mets entered the All-Star break with a record of 40-57 could understandably lead one to believe the club is more than one solid offseason away from being part of meaningful postseason conversations. That said, the Mets completed somewhat of a fire sale ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, and they then made a trip to the 2024 National League Championship Series. 

Will Sammon of The Athletic and others have noted that the Mets "aim to compete next season." With no sure-thing replacement for Lindor available to New York in the organization's farm system, dumping him ahead of Opening Day 2027 (if there is one) would seemingly be a bad business decision. 

The door may be open for the Mets trading Francisco Lindor, but...

Regardless of what anybody within the Mets says about the matter, questions regarding whether or not Lindor and star outfielder Juan Soto can coexist on the same team will hover over the franchise for the foreseeable future. That's why Abriano and others have mentioned that "it is not impossible to see the Mets eventually dealing Lindor." However, Abriano is among those who feel "now is not the time to do it."

In short, teams that may be interested in Lindor's services should probably wait until October to give Mets owner Steve Cohen a call.