Indians: No real clarity on Francisco Lindor’s fate until Opening Day

Cleveland Indians fans know Francisco Lindor could be traded at any moment, regardless of what the front office says this offseason.

The Cleveland Browns have done a great job of taking the city’s sporting attention away from an important offseason for the baseball club in town.

That will all change once the Indians make that first big move that either gets fans excited or has them wondering if ownership will ever spend big.

The main player in focus is Francisco Lindor, obviously. So far we have heard plenty of rumors about trades and not quite as many about a possible extension.

Then Chris Antonetti had this to say:

That does not inspire too much confidence.

What I have gathered so far this offseason is that we as fans are not going to truly know Lindor’s 2020 fate until Opening Day. The team is going to get plenty of trade calls between now and then and some may blow everyone away.

It may even take the threat of not trading him for a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers to cave under the pressure of fighting for a World Series to make a lopsided offer that should, in theory, help the Indians more in long-run.

I am personally not going to believe Lindor is the Opening Day shortstop in Cleveland until I see it happen with my own eyes. It is clear by now that the young star is going to get some sort of record contract. That contract is not going to come in Cleveland unless ownership changes in the next 12 months.

The only way he does stay is if he gets a back-loaded deal or one filled with options that allows the team to move him after a few years and hopefully a World Series title.

Yet even if he opens the year on the team he can still be moved during the season. And if he isn’t, the doom and gloom ramps up next offseason. I would even call it capital “D” Doom.

That is the tricky deal fans make when rooting for the Indians. We fall in love with certain players and if their star grows too big they are sent elsewhere in exchange for more young players with potential. The process repeats and so on and so forth.

The best scenario for both sides would be keeping Lindor in 2020 and winning the World Series. The franchise would achieve the ultimate goal and the sting of losing Lindor would not be as brutal.

Antonetti did not inspire much confidence and he has the potential to draw the ire of fans with a Lindor trade this offseason. Though he may just postpone the Doom until next offseason and pray for a storybook season in 2020.

That is a bit of a gamble, but there is also no reason to move on from Lindor right now if there is even a microscopic chance to have him come back on any sort of deal.