Four players the Cleveland Indians must get in a trade for Francisco Lindor.
Baseball’s virtual winter meetings came and went, and trade speculation involving the Cleveland Indians four-time All-Star, Francisco Lindor, didn’t exactly hit a fever pitch.
Sure, there’s still speculation and prognostication as to what will happen with the 27-year-old, but for now, Lindor’s place of employment remains on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
Heading into Christmas and considering the effects the pandemic on the season, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Lindor is still an Indian, or that the free-agent market hasn’t been that exciting across MLB.
Teams were expected to wait to see how things play out, and with the exception of a few moves, that’s the way things have played out to this point.
At this point of the offseason, the Indians may not be getting what they see as a fair return on Lindor. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported that he couldn’t find “one executive who thinks the Indians would get what the Red Sox did for Mookie Betts last offseason before we heard of COVID-19.”
Sherman added that he talked to eight executives during the past week, and quoted the one who came closest to saying the Tribe would shock the world and not trade their superstar.
"“I have too much respect for Chris [Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations] to think he would make a trade without getting something of significance, so I guess I don’t think [Lindor] is definitely getting traded, but I do nevertheless think he is getting traded.”"
It’s too hard to believe Lindor sticks around, even for half the season. My guess is the Indians don’t want to deal with the speculation for half a season. They’re already up against a PR nightmare by trading the most beloved player since Omar Vizquel. Trading him in July when they’re in contention?
Let’s just say the front office would be giving long-time PR man Bob Dibiasio a heck-of-challenge.
New York seems like an obvious fit in a potential Lindor deal, but reports indicate the team is trying to stay under the $210 million luxury tax threshold. If they re-sign D.J. LeMahieu, they’ll keep Gleyber Torres at short and probably won’t be trading for Lindor.
Recently, we’ve looked at what the Indians should get in return from the Mets and the Blue Jays, but now, here’s a look at a realistic package from the Yankees.
1. Clint Frazier
Seems like Clint Frazier in Indians rumors as a player coming to town almost as much as Kevin Love is circling the rumor mill for heading out of town.
The truth is Frazier makes a great deal of sense for the Tribe. He plays a position of need and would fit in nicely as a power presence in the middle of the order.
The Indians traded Frazier to New York back when he was the club’s No. 2 rated prospect. It worked out for Cleveland, who got Andrew Miller in return.
Frazier really hasn’t taken off in New York, mostly because playing time has been hard to come by. Injuries haven’t helped either, but in his early years with New York, he was mostly blocked on the depth chart.
In four seasons with the Yankees, Frazier’s appeared in 162 games while hitting 24 homers with 82 RBIs. He owns an .806 OPS during that time. He played in 39 games a season ago and hit .267 (.905 OPS).
2. Oswald Peraza, SS
The Indians are stockpiling middle-infield prospects, and they shouldn’t stop adding to the heap when considering Oswald Peraza.
Currently ranked as the MLB Pipeline’s fourth rated prospect, Peraza projects to stay at shortstop, while offensively, he’s capable of spraying the ball all around the field.
He’ll need to develop power, but the belief is he can hit 15-20 homers a season as he develops. He played at high-A in 2019 and is currently playing winter ball after being forced to miss the minor-league season because of the pandemic.
Notably, the Indians acquired Gabriel Arias in the deal that sent Mike Clevinger to the Padres, and he’s expected to be the Tribe’s shortstop of the future. Arias last played at high A level, as well.
There were some questions as to whether Arias would stick at short long-term, so if the Indians did acquire Peraza, there would be plenty of time to figure things out in terms of moving players around the infield.
3. Austin Wells, C
This catching prospect hasn’t played a game in the Yankees organization, but New York likes him so much, they drafted him twice.
He was a 35th-round selection coming out of high school in 2018, but he went to Arizona where all he did was hit, hit and hit some more. In two college seasons, Wells hit .353 with a 1.014 OPS. The Yankees took him 28th overall this past June.
You’ve probably noticed Wells is listed as a catcher, but it’s not a certainty he’ll play the position at the big-league level. He’s had elbow troubles, according to MLB Pipeline. With an ability to run well, he could project as a corner outfielder in the future in the mold of Kyle Schwarber.
He’s yet to make his pro debut, but Wells is already ranked as the sixth best prospect on New York’s farm.
Currently, the Indians have their own former first-round pick working his way through the minors in Bo Naylor. Naylor hasn’t played higher than the Class A level, but was invited to the Tribe’s alternate site last summer.
If Wells is to be included in a deal, I would think Carlos Carrasco would have to be involved in this deal. The Yankees spent slightly more over his draft slot to lock him for $2.5 million.
4. Deivi Garcia
If you’re talking Deivi Garcia, then again, the Indians would probably have to trade both Lindor and Carrasco in a potential package.
Garcia made his big-league debut last season, but the Yankees are looking to win the World Series in 2021. Carrasco would be, by far, the better rotation piece at this point time if that’s the goal.
Garcia would fit nicely into the Tribe’s rotation, joining Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Zach Please and Aaron Civale.
Currently ranked as the Yankees No. 3 prospect, Garcia boasts a fastball that sits in the 91-91 mph range. MLB Pipeline described his pitching as having stellar spin–a big deal in the world of advanced analytics.
Garcia appeared at Progressive Field in the 2019 All-Star Future’s Game and went 3-2 with a 4.98 ERA with the Yankees in 2020. He struck out 33 batters in 34.1 innings.