Cleveland Indians: Projecting Francisco Lindor’s arbitration price tag

George Springer

Not many cases went through the full arbitration process prior to the 2020 season, but one that did was George Springer, ending up with the highest amount of midpoint money.

The 2019 season might be tainted a bit for Springer, but regardless those stats went into the decision that ended in him receiving a $21 million deal in arbitration. Given how far apart Francisco Lindor and the Cleveland Indians might be on a price this coming year, this case might be the most important to see how the court rules.

The 2019 season saw Springer be named an All-Star as well as a Silver Slugger, the second of his career. Overall, he slashed a solid line of .292/.383/.591 during the season, but didn’t lead the league in any categories. What set him apart, though, was his 39 home runs, a mark that Lindor nearly hit in 2018 with 38.

For Springer, the jump up to $21 million was a big one after agreeing to just $3.9 million a few years earlier in 2017. Granted, he accomplished a lot between those two contracts, but that type of leap is something that isn’t common and was a big reason why this went to the court process.

What this means for the Cleveland Indians and Francisco Lindor is that the team should set aside a large chunk of change if they plan to take this case the distance. Lindor already made $17.5 million last year, so a bigger amount is expected and could very well be in the range of this deal from Springer.