Cleveland Indians trade chatter: Francisco Lindor a Yankee?

The Hot Stove hasn’t even been lit, but that’s not stopping speculation that the New York Yankees should trade for the Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor.

The idea of losing Francisco Lindor stinks like a city sewer. Losing him to the New York Yankees? There’s nothing to mask a stench so foul.

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman tossed the idea around of making a play for Lindor, though, because things are bad in New York, the Pinstripes haven’t won World Series in a whole 10 years.

Somewhere, J-Timberlake is singing “Cry me a River” over the fact the 103-win Yankees didn’t add to their pile of World Series trophies.

Sherman admitted the Yankees’ biggest need is starting pitching, but then bounced to what he called a “Pipe dream”: calling the Indians about their star shortstop.

When Paul Dolan told Indians’ fans to “Enjoy” Lindor before he’s eligible to bolt for free agency after the 2021 season, everybody took it as a cue that the Indians conceded Lindor won’t be a part of their long-term plans.

"“Will he be available? Maybe not overly, as Cleveland tries to be discreet,” Sherman wrote. “But the Indians are a smart, proactive organization,” Sherman wrote."

Sherman also noted how Lindor stands to eat up $43 million of salary over the next two seasons in his arbitration years. He’s projected to earn $16.7 million this winter, so the scribe sees the four-time All-Star banking over $20 million in the final year of Indians’ control.

Sherman called that total “…An amount that doesn’t work for Cleveland.”

He then correctly noted what most Indians fans already know, that this offseason is the front office’s last chance to get maximum value for Lindor in return.

Hopefully the front office is re-invigorated by the emergence of the organization’s young starting pitching. The window on winning a World Series had been closing as key members were getting older. That’s just not the case any more, though.

That said, I’ve gone on the record stating I’d rather keep Lindor for the next two seasons in an effort to win the franchise’s first World Series title since 1948. They’ll at least get draft-pick compensation when he walks.

For those who want to call me an idiot for thinking like this, that’s fine. The Indians just won 93 games in a year in which they significantly re-tooled. They should be better next season as younger players (Franmil Reyes, Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow,  Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger,) advance into another year in their respective careers.

With that in mind, Lindor is one of the top five players in the game. I like my chances a whole lot better with No. 12 on board.

• Something else to consider are the players returning from injury, which should boost the Indians’ chances in 2020. The obvious big-name addition will be Corey Kluber back taking the bump at  Progressive Field.

Fans should be worried about the Tribe looking to cut payroll, just because that’s the nature of the beast that is the Dolan-owned Indians. Give it to the Dolans though, they spent like no other Indians’ team had done before during 2017 and 2018 and all it got was two appearances in the division series.

The Yankees really need starting pitching. That was the case entering the 2019 campaign and it burned Aaron Boone and company in the ALCS, which is why Sherman was wondering  if an uber prospect like Miguel Andujar or Deivi Garcia, in addition to taking on Kluber’s $17.5 million would be enough to get the two-time Cy Young Award winner to New York.

With those credentials, we should all want Kluber back and healthy in the rotation. That said, he’s 32 and coming off a season derailed by injuries. If there was a player you were going to trade, he’d be it.

Ah…the offseason storylines are already ramping up and we’re just scraping the surface!