Lindor, Mets haven't talked extension: I'm not 'scared of free agency'

All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor hasn't engaged in extension talks with the New York Mets yet, but he's not worried about getting a deal done.

"I've never been scared of free agency," Lindor said during Monday's press conference. "So it's not like I've got to rush to sign a deal, or that I can't wait for free agency. I live life on a daily basis."

The 27-year-old reiterated that he doesn't want eventual contract discussions to bleed into the regular season and become a distraction.

"... As a player, we have a duty, and the duty is to show up and win," he said. "It would be unfair for me and the rest of the team to have ongoing conversations about extending - whether it’s me or other players - and we show up on Opening Day and our minds are somewhere else and we don’t focus on our duty. And then we start losing."

Lindor, who was acquired alongside right-hander Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians in early January, is set to be a free agent after the 2021 season. As he said in his introductory press conference, Lindor isn't opposed to an extension, but it has to make sense for both sides. That wasn't the case in Cleveland.

"Cleveland did what they had to do," he said. "They couldn't keep me. They weren't in a position to keep me (and) they decided to go a different route."

Lindor also talked about why he feels tanking hurts the game.

"... The game is heading in the wrong direction," he said. "You're rewarding teams for losing. A team loses 100 games and they get money at the end of the year because the bigger-market teams, or the teams that decided to spend money, spend too much money and won."

Over six major-league seasons, Lindor has posted a slash line of .285/.346/.488 with 138 home runs, 411 RBIs, and 99 stolen bases. He's been named to four All-Star teams and has finished top 10 in MVP voting on three occasions.