Cleveland Indians rumors: Seeking a Mookie Betts return for Francisco Lindor
ESPN’s Buster Olney weighed in on the Cleveland Indians potential trade of Francisco Lindor.
ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney recently wrote about how aggressive the Cleveland Indians might be in their trade of Francisco Lindor.
Lindor can be a free agent after the 2021 season and the Tribe is expected to move the four-time All-Star. The team gave a glimpse at its dire financial situation when it declined Brad Hand’s $10 million option.
Olney basically re-hashed the hash on what’s been speculated for months regarding Lindor, but he did write (subscription required) the Indians could still “seek a deal similar to what the Red Sox got for Mookie Betts last winter.”
In the package, Boston landed Alex Verdugo, a player at the top of the Dodgers’ farm system whose path was blocked by other players at the time.
That’s a little surprising because with team’s valuing prospects and young, controllable talent more than ever these days, giving up a good cheap players doesn’t seem as likely as it did a year ago at this time.
The Yankees and the Dodgers are natural expected landing spots, but a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about potential destinations that aren’t being talked about as frequently,
One of those spots is New York, with the Mets. New owner Steve Cohen recently tweeted that he expects to take over operations in the next 10 days and his ownership era will be off and running form there. He’s expected to spend like a fan, which should put Lindor in play because the Mets will be one of the few teams that should be able to sign Lindor to an extension.
Will New York give up the prospects to get a deal done? The two teams have been rumored to have talked before. Perhaps a new owner will be more willing to part with it’s minor-league talent in order to make a splash on the big-league club.
The previous rumors involving the two teams included Jeff McNeil and shortstop Amed Rosario, with the former being a non-starter for the Mets at the time. McNeil can play the outfield, as well as second base, plus he’s a .311 career batter (139 career OPS+), so you can see why the Tribe’s interested.
Rosario is under club control for three more years, and could hold down shortstop until one of the Tribe’s prospects is ready.
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There’s been nothing new tying Lindor to the Mets, other the fact that the biggest pot at the end of the rainbow may end in Flushing.