Cleveland Indians surprisingly winning Francisco Lindor trade

The Cleveland Indians looked like big losers when the organization traded away Francisco Lindor. The Tribe got back some MLB ready talent, but it was clear: Lindor was the best player in the deal.

However, Lindor started off slowly with the Mets, and that slump has now extended into month No. 3. He’s batting .216 with a .665 OPS. He has eight home runs, but has an OPS+ of 87. With 100 considered the league average, Lindor’s never been below 100. The lowest he came was last season, when he posted a mark of 101 in the truncated 2020 campaign.

Meanwhile, Amed Rosario has fans in Cleveland optimistic about his future with the club. He was batting .274 with with a .716 OPS.

Lindor has the leg up in WAR (1.4 to 0.5), but remember, Rosario wasn’t used everyday early in the season as Terry Francona maneuvered him between shortstop, center field and the bench.

Andres Gimenez had a leg up on Rosario when the team broke camp in Goodyear, but he struggled to hit in April and was demoted to Triple A. Once Rosario got regularly playing time at short, his bat started to heat up.

Rosario was once one of the most coveted prospects in the game and showed promise at the major league in his second full season, when he hit .287 in 2019. He lost the job in 2020 to Gimenez, but what transpired in the pandemic-fueled season has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Although his improvement at the plate coincides with his permanent move to shortstop, I wouldn’t rule out another shot at center field, although I anticipate the experiment to continue next season.

The Indians pipeline at shortstop is rich, headlined by upper tier prospect, Tyler Freeman. Gimenez may also factor into the future.

As for Lindor…Tribe fans know the story. Cleveland tried to extend him at the 2016 World Series. Had he accepted, the Indians would’ve probably had him under contract though 2023. There was no way they could afford to keep beyond then.

With just a year remaining on LIndor’s deal, trade options thinned out, but for now, Cleveland’s getting good returns on the deal.

As for the Mets, New York is on the hook for $340 million for player in his prime batting .216. Owner Steve Cohen can outspend his mistakes, but the Indians’ can’t. Fortunately, it seems like they dodged a disaster by doing what owner Paul Dolan told us all to do, which was “Enjoy” him while he was here.