This wasn’t the signing of Trevor Bauer. The Mets did not sign George Springer. They did better Thursday acquiring a premier shortstop  and a quality starting pitcher in a six-player trade with the Cleveland Indians.

So a blockbuster trade that caught us all off guard, with the acquisitions of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, made the Mets a team to reckon with in 2021.

Sandy Alderson and GM Jared Porter will continue to make improvements. The Mets have tried to make these improvements the past few years but they failed. The difference? Steve Cohen and that flexibility to spend.

And spending the Mets will do. They did not get Lindor for a one-year deal. Mookie Betts in a walk-off year trade from the Red Sox to the Dodgers got a long term and lucrative contract, and the Mets are likely to follow the same path.

Lindor, the 27-year old and four-time All Star could have a long tenure ahead as the Mets shortstop rest assured, as Alderson stated Thursday. The Mets will attempt to sign Lindor to an extension.

The logistics say the Mets will sign Lindor to a long-term deal. They have the resources and don’t seem concerned about going over their salary threshold. 

The principles of this trade were sending Rosario and Gimenez to the Indians. The two prospects to Cleveland were not in that bracket of that Alderson and Porter deemed ones they would protect – Sandy mentioned the top five or six prospects during his presser on Thursday as ones they would prefer to hold.

The timing was right regarding a trade that Alderson said was on the agenda. The Indians wanted Rosario and viewed Gimenez as a key player in this trade.

Gimenez with his breakout 2020 rookie season, and according to an insider, was highly touted by other teams. The Mets, as an insider informed me, were looking at Lindor and the Indians would not bite had Gimenez not been part of this deal.

The Mets got creative and the work is not done. Does this trade rule out any chance of the Mets and talk of Trevor Bauer? 

 “You can never have enough both starting pitchers and relievers,” Porter said. “So we’re going to continue to be creative.”

Carrasco, 33, the 2020 American League Comeback Player of the Year and recovered from a diagnosis of leukemia with a career 3.77 ERA and 88-73 record in 11 seasons, is part of the Mets continuing to be creative.

So as I have stated here the past few weeks, and in a short span, the Mets under Steve Cohen are a team in good hands. One, two, maybe three impact players can make a difference which says the Mets are a step closer to being one of those dominant teams with the Dodgers, Braves and Padres in the National league.

They got better behind the plate when James McCann signed a $40 million four-year contract. Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco are two more of the needs the Mets filled.

I know every Mets fan is waiting for George Springer. I ask, is it not better to be caught off guard and not rely on the sources and reports? We heard about Francisco Lindor. It was an afterthought last week. 

Alderson said ”I think Lindor’s the kind of player that makes one smile.” Mets fans smiled Thursday afternoon and there is likely more to come.