Jon Heyman said the New York Mets’ deadline sale could begin any day, a turn that puts Francisco Lindor’s team in play after a season that has gone off the rails. In a post on X, Heyman wrote, “Time for Mets deadline sale to begin” and said almost everyone should be made available.
That is why Lindor is being searched now. He signed a 10-year, $341 million contract before the 2022 season, a deal that once symbolized the Mets’ biggest ambitions and now sits in the middle of a roster that has fallen near the bottom of the National League. The team entered Tuesday just ahead of the Colorado Rockies for the worst record in the league, sat 15 games behind the Braves and carried only 2% postseason odds from FanGraphs.
The numbers make the warning harder to dismiss. The Mets have spent $1.671 billion on payroll since the 2022 season, more than any other club in baseball, and still have only two postseason appearances to show for it. They lost to the Padres in the 2022 wild card series, went 75-87 in 2023 and finished 29 games out of first place, then lost to the Dodgers in the 2024 NLCS. They missed the playoffs again in 2025 after an 83-79 season.
Steve Cohen kept pouring money into the roster after that, hiring Dave Stearns late in the 2023 season and continuing to add big names. Pete Alonso went to the Baltimore Orioles. Brandon Nimmo was dealt to the Texas Rangers for Marcus Semien. The Mets traded two prospects to Milwaukee for Freddy Peralta, signed Devin Williams, brought in Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco after strong seasons, added Luke Weaver and traded for Luis Robert Jr. That is what makes this latest shift so stark: the same club that spent like a contender now sounds ready to sell like a team that has finally admitted the season is lost.
Heyman’s list also leaves one important question hanging. He said everyone but Ewing, Benge, McLean, Scott and Soto should be made available, which reads like a broad market open to almost anyone on the roster. But it does not specifically answer whether Lindor himself is on the table. For a player carrying a $341 million contract and a franchise built around him, that is the next thing that matters most.
