Situation involving Mets' Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil remains curiously unresolved

New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor confirmed he still owes teammate Jeff McNeil a car stemming from a promise made last year. 

"Yeah, I will get a car," Lindor vowed during a recent appearance on the "On Base with Mookie Betts" podcast, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "It’s just a matter of what car I’m getting." 

Of course, McNeil can afford to buy his own vehicle after he signed a four-year, $50M deal that includes a fifth-year club option to stay with the Mets this past offseason. However, Lindor is a potential future Mets captain who put pen to paper on a 10-year, $341M contract extension before the start of the 2021 season and who publicly said he'd buy McNeil a car if the 31-year-old won the National League batting title for the 2022 campaign, which McNeil did.

Back in May, Lindor insisted he planned to keep his word. However, the four-time All-Star selection seemed in no hurry to acquire the gift for McNeil while speaking on Betts' podcast. 

"I don’t know. It’s my wallet, so," Lindor joked. "It’s gonna happen. It might be a Hot Wheel. It might be a golf cart. It might be a nice car." 

Lindor later added that McNeil "will get the car, I promise you that." 

Mets fans likely find little humor in anything regarding the club halfway through July. 43-50 New York began the midweek trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East standings by 18.5 games, and the Mets were also eight-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild-card spot at that time. Meanwhile, Chichester noted in a different piece how some media personalities such as WFAN's Brandon Tierney have suggested Lindor is a bad teammate for not buying McNeil the car through the start of the summer months. 

For an article published Sunday night, Joel Sherman of the New York Post said the disappointing Mets could be sellers ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Lindor and McNeil reportedly once got into a physical altercation during a game in 2021, and it's possible the club could make McNeil available this month to plan for the future and to eliminate what's become a curious behind-the-scenes matter.