Cleveland Indians: Despite trade rumors Francisco Lindor wants to stay
Despite an off-season dominated by a ridiculous amount of trade rumors, the Cleveland Indians star Francisco Lindor wants to win and win in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Indians front office has also made it clear they are committed to Francisco Lindor, but he was reportedly being shopped around by the organization. Despite all of those rumors, executives from other organizations didn’t feel the Indians were serious about trading him.
Lindor still has two-years left on his contract but is undoubtedly headed towards a huge payday. He is one of the biggest rising stars in the game and will rightfully command a $30 million-plus contract when he is a free agent.
In his five seasons in Cleveland, he has slashed .288/.347/.493 with 130 home runs and 384 RBI’s. He is also a four-time All-Star, won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards. He is one of the young rising stars of the game.
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With his status and his amazing play, he has put the Indians organization in a tough spot. For the last three years, the Indians have cut their payroll. They went from a $135 million payroll in 2018 to $120 million last season and a reported $90 million this season.
With those numbers, he puts the Indians in a tough spot should they not want to commit that amount of money to one player. He could command roughly a quarter of the Indians’ payroll with what he should be paid based on other players of his caliber.
Undoubtedly the team and Francisco Lindor are discussing extension options, but if they are unable to come to terms, the team will have two very unattractive options.
They can try to win right now with him and prepare for him to leave in free agency or trade him while his value is high and get something in return for him.
As the Boston Red Sox found out the hard way with Mookie Betts, trading away a star can mean significant backlash for an organization.
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With the recent trend of the Cleveland Indians trimming payroll, I believe he will be traded at some point in the next two seasons. I think as long as the Indians can negotiate a good return for him, the sting of losing him will not be as bad as it could be.