Ken Rosenthal is firing back at Mike Francesa, who claims the Mets are actively trying to trade Francisco Lindor as the MLB trade deadline approaches.
On his podcast earlier this week, Francesa claimed that the Mets aren’t just listening to offers on Lindor but are actively looking for them.
Rosenthal, an insider for The Athletic and Fox Sports, was asked about the bold claim on “Foul Territory” and promptly said he wouldn’t believe it until he heard it from a beat reporter.
“I don’t see it. The one person who reported it was Mike Francesa, the radio talk show host in New York,” Rosenthal said Tuesday. “With all due respect to Mike, he is not a beat reporter, and I have not seen any of this from any of the beat reporters; I have not heard it myself.”
Last week on “The Show” with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, Mets owner Steve Cohen confirmed to The Post that there was some tension between Lindor and Juan Soto last year but added they are “getting along much better” this season.
Francesa, however, said he doesn’t believe it.
“I don’t think they get along at all,” Francesa said. “Everything I’ve heard all along is that they don’t like each other. So they can say what they want.
“I don’t think there’s any question the Mets are going to try very, very hard to trade Lindor.”
Soto and Lindor addressed their relationship last week with The Athletic and said they’re in a good place.
“There were no issues last year — at all,” Soto told The Athletic. “We didn’t have any beef or anything. Definitely, our relationship is getting better because it takes time.
“When you meet a girl, you don’t start kissing her right away.”
In Francesa’s opinion, the rift between Soto and Lindor has grown to a point where the Mets want to move Lindor before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Lindor has five years remaining on his 10-year, $341 million contract, so it seems unlikely the Mets will try to trade him, even with the incredible disappointment they’ve suffered this season.
“I don’t see them going anywhere,” Cohen said of the team’s two biggest stars on “The Show.”
The Mets, heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Royals, hold an abysmal 38-54 record this season.
