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.

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NL East

AL East

White Sox shake up middle infield

With Tim Anderson currently on the roster, the Chicago White Sox have little need for Francisco Lindor. However, the intrigue of having Lindor paired with rising star Nick Madrigal could be enough for the White Sox to at least make an offer to the Cleveland Indians.

Anderson and Lindor are actually very similar players. They are the same age, but the difference comes from their strengths. Lindor is a very balanced player with his fielding ability as his best attribute, but hitting isn’t far behind.

As for Anderson, his best strength comes at the plate, batting .335 during the 2019 season and winning the batting title. The trade would essentially upgrade the White Sox’s defense while sustaining the other areas.

For the Indians, this offer is a draw because they wouldn’t lose much transitioning from Lindor to Anderson, but would be able to save money. Anderson is set to make just $7.25 million in 2021, $9.5 in 2022 and then has club options for 2023 and 2024.

Additionally, the Indians would add outfield prospect Blake Rutherford. At 23-years old, Rutherford would add to the outfield prospects in Cleveland’s system. He’s currently the No. 13 prospect in the White Sox’s system and was the New York Yankees’ first round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, going 18th overall.

Tigers make leap for Lindor

The Detroit Tigers are slowly approaching the end of Miguel Cabrera’s contract and it could time up perfectly for when their roster is ready to compete at a high level with Casey Mize, Matt Manning and the other young pitchers that will all soon be in the majors. The Tigers might be able to get ahead of the curve a bit by adding Lindor to their lineup.

Francisco Lindor would provide a much needed offensive burst in Detroit that would improve their chances of winning by finally giving some run support to the young pitching staff.

For the Cleveland Indians, they add two of the Tigers’ top prospects with Riley Greene and Isaac Paredes. Greene and Paredes would both fill holes in the Indians’ lineup, although it might take a bit of time for them to be ready.

Greene was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and is the Tigers’ No. 4 prospect with a current debut projection of 2022. At just 20-years old, Greene has a lot of potential and could be in the minors for just a season before arriving to the majors. He only has 57 games in the minors and slashed .271/.347/.403.

Paredes is a bit closer to being major league-ready and could see regular time in 2021. At 21-years old, Paredes debuted in August, playing in 34 games for the Tigers. Paredes had a few bumps, but was able to sustain play. He’s still the No. 6 prospect in the Detroit system.

Twins flip shortstops

Add the Minnesota Twins to the list of teams in the AL Central that don’t necessarily need Lindor, but could possibly consider a move. Minnesota recently signed Jorge Polanco to a long-term deal, but Polanco has lacked consistency at times. For that reason, the Twins could explore the idea of spending a bit more money on Lindor to gain more consistent play.

For the Cleveland Indians and Polanco, he would fill the shortstop role at a much cheaper price and is already on a long-term deal. Polanco is locked in with Minnesota as of now through at least 2024, making at most $10.5 million in a single season over that span. He also has club options tacked on at the end of the deal that could keep him around even longer.

As for the prospect included, Akil Baddoo is currently the No. 13 prospect in the Twins’ organization. A second round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, Baddoo is nearing a debut in the majors, being projected for sometime during the 2021 season.

This comes despite Baddoo having limited experience in the minors. He only played 29 games during the 2019 season and they came at High-A. While his average wasn’t very impressive, he was able to club four home runs and steal six bases over the short time.