Cleveland Indians: Francisco Lindor trade possibilities to the AL Central

Moving through the divisions for potential trades for Francisco Lindor, we explore possibilities for the Cleveland Indians within the AL Central.

The Cleveland Indians will be exploring trades for Francisco Lindor all offseason and the AL Central will be no exception. While the Indians would prefer to not move Lindor within the division, they will still listen to offers in case a team blows them away.

Moving Lindor to a team that you play more than any other would be a poor choice, but should the best offer came from a team within the division, it will be hard to turn it down. Being a small market team, the Indians need to get as much in return as possible and that might mean that Lindor stays in the AL Central.

The likelihood of this is low though. The Cleveland Indians aren’t the only team in the AL Central that is built through the minors and wants to keep payroll low. In fact, almost the entire division is built that way.

The best offer for Francisco Lindor will most likely come from a team who has a plan in place to sign Lindor long-term. If a team thinks they can lock him up for five to 10 years, then they’ll be willing to offer more than a team that will just get a one-year rental for Lindor.

Among the teams in the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins had the highest payroll during the 2020 season after the adjustments to contracts due to COVID. Even so, the Twins were still over $5 million below the league average, spending about $55.7 million.

Going down the list, we come next to the Chicago White Sox, who are currently projected to have the highest team payroll in the AL Central during the 2021 season. The White Sox came in at $53.7 million. The Detroit Tigers were next at $43.2 million and then the Cleveland Indians at $39.3 million. The Kansas City Royals rounded out the division at $34.8 million.

So, while teams in the AL Central are all cutting payroll, there’s still the possibility that Francisco Lindor could get dealt within the division.

Other Divisions

NL East

AL East