Cleveland Indians: The best and worst landing spots for Francisco Lindor

The Cleveland Indians are expected to move on from Francisco Lindor, but where will the star end up and which are the best and worst options for the Tribe?

The clock is ticking on how much longer Francisco Lindor will be with the Cleveland Indians. His contract will just be too large for the owners to commit to paying, so moving him before his deal expires to get something in return seems like the only option at this point.

Luckily, the Indians have options in-house to replace Lindor when the time comes, so the return in the trade can be used to improve other positions or bolster the minor leagues and future of the franchise. However, who the Indians deal Lindor to is just as important as who they get in return.

The team that acquires Lindor from the Indians will do so with the idea of signing him to a long-term deal along the lines of 10 years. That means that the Tribe will have to take a lot into account when deciding which team to send Lindor to when the trade happens.

Knowing the potential of Lindor, the Indians will want to ensure that they don’t face him too much, similar to how the Red Sox sent Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, moving him from the American League to the National League. This will play into the decision of which team to trade him to, how often the Indians will have to face him.

There’s no question that the Indians will gain a big haul for Lindor and the return can be endlessly speculated. There’s a decent chance this could be one of the biggest trades in club history, and with that comes the pressure of nailing it. While the front office will be focused on the return, where Lindor lands need to be a focal point as well.

With that being said, here’s the best and some of the worst landing spots that the Cleveland Indians could send Francisco Lindor to this offseason.

Worst: The AL Central

The Cleveland Indians won’t want to face Francisco Lindor if they don’t have to, but facing him more than any other team would be the worst case scenario. If Lindor ends up being traded to any team in the division, then the Indians automatically lose the trade.

While Lindor going to the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals aren’t as threatening at the moment, the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox could become an unbreakable barrier in the division for the Indians if Lindor joins him.

The Twins and White Sox both have players that could be intriguing options for the Indians, but it won’t be worth having to go through Lindor to win the division. There’s some things that aren’t worth it and the return for Lindor isn’t worth having to face him so many times each season for the next decade.

No matter how great an offer any of the teams from the AL Central send the Indians, they need to look the other way and move Lindor to a different team. Warding off the entire American League would be ideal, but will be difficult, so just the AL Central will do. If they can avoid the Central, then that alone would be a small win in the trade process.

Worst: New York Yankees

To put it simply, it’s the Yankees. Whenever a big name player is on the free agent market or available through trades, New York emerges as a favorite. For once, the Indians can control if they land the big name and the Tribe should do everything in their power to ensure that Lindor doesn’t end up in pinstripes.

The Yankees have been the demise of the Indians in the playoffs more than once over the last few years, but beyond that, they might be the most hated team in the American League, and that includes the post-trash can Houston Astros.

Almost every year the Yankees are considered one of the favorites of the American League and adding Lindor to that roster is just fuel to the fire. With young stars already in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole and so many others, Lindor would just increase those chances.

That doesn’t mention that if the American League runs through the Yankees, the Indians would have to get through Lindor to make the World Series. Again, while every team in the American League should be avoided if possible, the Yankees should be on the strict “do not trade with” list when it comes to Lindor.