Mets Morning News: Lindor extension talks set to begin, Walker to make first spring start

Meet the Mets

The Mets dropped their afternoon contest to the Nationals yesterday by a 9-5 score. In the loss, Francisco Lindor picked up his first two hits of the spring, giving his club a taste of what’s to come.

It appears extension talks between the Mets and Lindor are finally set to begin in earnest this week.

The club is likely to focus on the Lindor extension first before moving on to extension talks for outfielder Michael Conforto.

Jose Martinez will miss approximately four months after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee during Sunday’s game. He will have surgery this weekend. The injury was first listed as a twisted left knee, and Martinez was still experiencing stiffness prior to the diagnosis.

Following the injury, Jon Heyman reported that the team is interested in former Met Killer Maikel Franco.

Jeff McNeil’s tough day at third base on Sunday heightened the team’s lineup concerns.

In general, the Mets are making errors at an alarming rate this spring.

Anthony DiComo touched on everything from the Martinez injury to hot corner concerns to Matthew Allan on this week’s Mets Notebook.

Tim Britton focused on what has gone wrong for Dellin Betances and whether he’s done enough to fix it, Brandon Nimmo getting more opportunities against left-handed pitchers, and where Kevin Pillar could hit in the order on This Week in Mets. (Paywall Alert)

Nimmo turned to his childhood hero, Todd Helton, in his quest to win a full-time job on the team.

Betances rebounded yesterday afternoon amid spring training scrutiny, writes Mike Puma.

The St. Lucie Mets announced their coaching staff for the season, which includes former major leaguer Reid Brignac as their Manager.

Jimmy Kimmel appears to be working on a documentary on the 1986 Mets for ESPN, and is calling on all fans who were alive at the time to submit photos, home movies, or anything else about the team, from on or off the field.

Around the National League East

Former Phillies pitcher Rheal Cormier passed away on Monday after battling pancreatic cancer. Our thoughts are with his family.

The Phillies are facing a dilemma with Spencer Howard: Place him in the bullpen or stash him in the minor leagues. It is similar to a dilemma Archie Bradley faced four years ago.

It appears as if the Nationals will make extension offers to Juan Soto and Trea Turner in the near future.

Around Major League Baseball

For International Women’s Day, Abbey Mastracco explored how baseball’s toxic culture shows a lack of action on gender equality.

Major League Baseball appears to be loaning teams money in 2021 to fund revenue sharing, but whether the money will be paid back or not is still being debated. (Paywall Alert)

Three umpires discussed their reasoning for opting out in 2020, and talked about the joy of returning to their jobs in 2021. (Paywall Alert)

Five writers at MLB.com made their picks for who will lead each league in batting average this season.

Bleacher Report ranked the five best and the five worst lineups heading into the season.

Clint Frazier is on his way to becoming an elite outfielder for the Yankees, and he overcame a lot to get there.

Ian Browne spoke with D’Angelo Ortiz, the 16-year-old son of former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, about his dreams of playing in the majors.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Chris McShane wrote about the Lindor extension talks finally starting.

Allison McCague covered the Martinez injury and the team’s interest in Franco.

Brian Salvatore wrote up a series preview for José Peraza, who is looking for a comeback opportunity with the club.

Steve Sypa was ready to party like it’s 2014 in his season preview for Wilfredo Tovar.

On Episode 104 of From Complex to Queens, the crew looked at how some of the team’s prospects have been performing this spring.

This Date in Mets History

Everyone’s favorite banger, “Meet the Mets”, was named the official tune of the team on this date in 1963.