CLEVELAND — Will All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor be on the Cleveland Indians’ Opening Day roster?
That is the question fans want answered sooner rather than later, and while Chris Antonetti, the Indians’ president of baseball operations, has said on multiple occasions, “I have every expectation that Francisco Lindor will our starting shortstop Opening Day next year,” a report from Ken Rosenthal offers a contrarian opinion.
“They’ve asked teams for their best and final offers so they can make an assessment this weekend just on what they want to do,” Rosenthal said on MLB Network Friday morning. “Now, does this mean that Lindor will definitely be traded? No, it does not mean that, but certainly, there is a lot of talk, there is a lot of activity.
“I’m not sure what direction this is going in. I’m not even sure this is a hard deadline, but this is where the talks stand right now, and I had an executive tell me last night, ‘it looks like the Indians are trying to bring this to a rapid conclusion.’”
Rosenthal’s report was the latest featuring the Indians and their trade talks for Lindor.
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Indians’ in-state rival, the Cincinnati Reds, have inquired about Lindor’s availability in a trade, which comes five months after the two teams joined the San Diego Padres in a deal that sent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati and Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland.
“The Reds have been engaged with the Indians in talks about the superstar shortstop, according to a source, thrusting Cincinnati into a mix that reportedly includes the Dodgers and Padres, among other clubs,” Feinsand wrote. “The clubs have not confirmed the talks.”
Lindor had another great season in 2019, as he belted 32 home runs, 40 doubles and two triples with 74 runs batted in and 101 runs scored despite missing the first 19 games while working through calf and ankle injuries suffered in a preseason individual workout and spring training, respectively.
The 25-year old Lindor hit .284 with a split of .335/.518/.854 on-base, slugging and on-base-plus-slugging percentages in 2019.
In 2018, Lindor led the Indians with 183 hits and 42 doubles, was tied for third in triples, third in runs batted in and second with 38 home runs. Lindor set a club record for lead-off home runs, as he started nine games with round-trippers in 2018.
Through 717 games over his first four-plus years with the Indians, Lindor collected 835 hits, including 178 doubles, 15 triples and 130 home runs, with 384 runs batted in, 478 runs scored and 260 walks drawn against 455 strikeouts.
A four-time American League All-Star infielder and two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, Lindor has a .288 career batting average with .347 on-base, .493 slugging and .840 on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
Currently, Lindor is in his second year of arbitration and is expected to see a substantial increase in pay, whether his camp and the Indians agree on a deal before the hearing or if the superstar shortstop elects to go before an arbitrator.
“You’re getting two years of Francisco Lindor, one of the great players in the game, and you’re going to have to give something up to get him,” Rosenthal said. “It remains to be seen just how this is going to evolve. The Indians have already traded Kluber, and now, Lindor could be next.”