Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor was on the block. Here’s the perfect trade scenario for “Mr. Smile”.
The Winter Meetings just ended and this year there was more smoke and more rumors floating around than either of the last two Meetings. This is what happens when the hot stove is actually hot and free agents actually sign early on, it leads to more rumors and more speculation which leads to more fun.
At the center of all these rumors is Francisco Lindor, the 26-year-old superstar shortstop currently of the Cleveland Indians. But the expectation is that Lindor will be wearing a different uniform than Cleveland’s come Opening Day. Cleveland executives have always been very open about their distaste for spending big money and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that multiple executives of other teams believe Lindor will be traded.
Lindor is everything a team could want (except Cleveland apparently) he’s young, he’s controlled for another two seasons and he has already established himself as a superstar player in the league. Here’s the resumé
- All-Star each of the last four seasons
- Top-10 in MVP voting each of the last four seasons
- Two Silver Sluggers
- Two Gold Gloves
And to cap all of that off Lindor has the fifth-highest WAR in baseball since 2016, behind Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich and Anthony Rendon.
All this to say that a trade for Lindor is going to cost his new team quite a bit.
Which is why a three-team trade makes the most sense.
We know the Dodgers are interested and Lindor, of course, is currently on the Cleveland Indians so there are your first two. Who would come in as the third?
Hello, yes St. Louis Cardinals on line one.
So what is the trade you ask? Look no further.
And now we get to why this makes sense for each team.