Cleveland Indians: 3 dream Francisco Lindor trade packages

The Cleveland Indians will eventually have to move on from Francisco Lindor due to payroll concerns. Here are three dream returns the Tribe could receive for the star shortstop.

A day where Francisco Lindor plays baseball as a member of a team not named the Cleveland Indians is inevitable.

The four-time All-Star will be a free agent after the 2022 season and contract extension talks have completely broken down.

In 2019 Indians owner Paul Dolan admitted that Lindor would likely not stay with the club long-term, telling fans to “enjoy him” while still wearing navy and red.

Despite a slow start to the 2020 season, Lindor is surely set to cash in on a deal north of $300 million.

That deal will have to come either on the free agent market or as an extension with another team upon a trade as Dolan made it clear that won’t be coming from Cleveland. “Probably the day we [hand out a $300 million contract] is when somebody else is doing $1 billion deals.

Thus, it’s time for the Indians to move their star shortstop before it is too late. The team still has a pitching staff that can compete for a title in 2020, but with Lindor leaving inevitable, they need to add talent via trade rather than waiting to let his contract run out and losing him for no return.

The team cannot afford to wait until the 2021 trade deadline or off-season as the shortstop would likely not bring back the same return as a one-year rental.

The bright side in trading Lindor now is that despite a mediocre start to the season, he will likely bring in a package of high profile prospects and perhaps an MLB ready player to fill his spot on the roster.

Here are three dream packages the Indians could get for their star shortstop.