As Anthony DiComo of the MLB website noted, shortstop Francisco Lindor became the longest-tenured player on the New York Mets after starting pitcher David Peterson was traded to the Chicago Cubs in June. 

The Mets will enter Friday with a record of 43-60, and it's likely that what the squad was on the morning of July 23 and what it is after the Aug. 3 trade deadline will be very different entities. While speaking with Laura Albanese of Newsday for a piece published on Thursday, Mets legend
Darryl Strawberry seemed to send a message to Lindor and star outfielder Juan Soto regarding how they will need to help the ballclub right the ship.

Mets need Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto to serve as leaders

"Their veteran players need to be leaders," Strawberry said about the Mets. "They need to step up and say, 'Hey, we’re the Mets. We need to start going out there. We need to start dominating and kicking people’s butts because everyone is laughing at us'... You’ve got to get tired of losing."

Regardless of what anybody thinks about how Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns dismantled the core of the club's roster this past offseason, what's done is done. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, first baseman Pete Alonso, closer Edwin Diaz and utility man Jeff McNeil aren't walking back through that door. 

As for Lindor, he and the Mets agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth up to $341M shortly before the 2021 season. Meanwhile, Soto signed a 15-year, $765M contract to join the Mets in December 2024.

While rumors continue to suggest the Mets could trade Lindor during the upcoming offseason, it's clear that team owner Steve Cohen wants to keep Lindor and Soto together for at least one more campaign. 

Mets players need a change of "mentality"

"When you run on the field, [you have to think], 'We’re going to beat the brakes off of you,'" Strawberry added during his comments. "That’s what you have to have. That’s the attitude you have to have. They have the talent to do that. I don’t know if they have the mentality, [but] if they get that part of it, they’ll be successful."

It sounds as if Strawberry thinks the Mets, a franchise suffering through a championship drought that began after it won the 1986 World Series, desperately need to find a way to improve their culture. Lindor and Soto should be part of that process over the next couple of months, but it remains to be seen if they'll be teammates whenever the next season gets underway.