The Cleveland Indians were in the news this week, but not for anything the front office would be happy about.
Mostly, the news involved what to do with their star shortstop, Francisco Lindor.
Lindor isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season, meaning he can play with the Tribe for two more full seasons with Indians just having to pay what he gets in arbitration, likely around $16-17 million this year and depending what kind of season he has, over $20 million in ’21.
At that point, Lindor could walk away from the franchise, with the Indians just getting draft pick compensation.
Many feel the Indians should move now because a deal involving the star shortstop would allow a possible trading partner two full seasons on Lindor, thus they would be willing to give up more to the Tribe.
However, we believe the best course of action for the Indians is to keep Lindor for two more years and see how everything plays out.
Here are our reasons:
- Winning. Cleveland’s win totals over the last four seasons are 93, 91, 102, and 94. They are most definitely a threat to reach the post-season in 2020 and 2021. Why give away that chance, which leads us to…
2. Return From A Trade. Most likely, a deal for Lindor will bring back an established major leaguer who won’t be as good as Lindor along with some top prospects, who probably won’t be very good players (if they ever become very good) for a few years. Trading your best player weakens the team in the short run.
3. Youth Is Still On Tribe’s Side. The Indians are a reletively young team. In their current projected starting lineup, only catcher Roberto Perez and 1B/DH Carlos Santana are over 30 years old, and Lindor (26) and Jose Ramirez (27) are entering the prime of their careers, meaning their best years should be coming very soon.
4. Pitching. The Tribe still has plenty of it. Even with the trade of Corey Kluber, the rotation is still headed by Mike Clevinger (29), Shane Bieber (25), Carlos Carrasco (33), and a pair of 25-year-olds in Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac to round it out. The bullpen could be very tough in late innings with Brad Hand, and newcomer Emmanuel Clase and rookie James Karinchak. No reason to waste it.
With the Kluber deal, the Indians can still pay Lindor what he gets in arbitration this season, and improve the offense with the money saved in the Kluber trade, and still be at a comfort level in terms of payroll.
Plus, a lot of things can change in two years.
First, the basic agreement expires after 2021, and who knows, maybe the owners get a “franchise tag” in the next round of collective bargaining. Also, with the news that came out about John Sherman when we bought the Royals, it appears the Dolan family is at least thinking about selling the franchise.
And don’t forget the Indians local television deal ends after 2022, so another influx of cash could present itself to ownership.
Our point is simply this, don’t force yourself into a false deadline. Sometimes the best course of action is to let things play out.
All sorts of things can happen in two years. Heck, the Indians might even win a World Series. And that has a better chance of happening with Francisco Lindor wearing a Cleveland uniform.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 