Cleveland Indians: Francisco Lindor trade opportunities to the NL Central

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

With the edict in place that Francisco Lindor will be traded prior to Opening Day, the Cleveland Indians are looking across Major League Baseball for possible trade partners. This time we’ll preview the NL Central teams, who have multiple landing spots for Lindor.

What makes the NL Central unique, is that you can view multiple teams that have the payroll to make a legitimate run at a long-term deal for Lindor, and also teams who could see value in a 1 year trial as they believe they are in a championship window.

There were only five games separating four out of the five teams in the NL Central in 2020. Even with the announcement that the Chicago Cubs may be looking to cut salary, they are still a team wanting to contend in 2021, and have the resources to make a serious run at Lindor.

The challenge in any Francisco Lindor trade is that the return will not equal what Lindor presently brings to the Cleveland Indians. Chris Antonetti will be looking to cut costs, but since Lindor is probably a 1-year rental, don’t expect the significant hauls we’ve heard rumored this time last off-season. For the Indians to make a successful trade, any top prospect(s) and some multi-year controlled MLB ready assets will be a win.

Only the Pittsburgh Pirates seem like a long shot to even consider adding Lindor from the NL Central. Yet like all teams in this division, the Pirates have a very dedicated fan base, and if fans are allowed back at PNC Park, the addition of Lindor would not only be a selling point, but potential building block to spark their long-term vision of contention.

So with that, lets take a look at what trades are possible within the NL Central for teams seeking to inquire about Francisco Lindor.

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Why would the rebuilding Pirates give up good prospects for Francisco Lindor? It’s possible a team with nothing to spend their money on view Lindor as a locker room leader that you can build a team around. Lindor’s game would fit perfectly at PNC Park, and with their investments in rebuilding their minor league system, it wouldn’t be long before reinforcements arrived.

Lindor has made it known that one of the things he likes about Cleveland is they are contenders, and he wants to play for one. A one-year audition in Pittsburgh may not provide enough winning to even make Lindor consider staying.

To make a trade with Pittsburgh work, the Indians would look to include Bradley Zimmer who has promise, but is in a logjam within the Indians outfield. The Pirates can give up more prospects if they can supplement some multi-year risk should Lindor not re-sign.

For the Cleveland Indians the only MLB ‘ready’ player in this deal is Cole Tucker, who’s brother is currently in the Indians system. This is just speculation, so why not let Cleveland try to get monopolies on talented brothers? Tucker is a utility knife, and raw talent that you could give more at-bats to and find something special. If he was in a stronger organization, he may be a Triple-A player still improving, but don’t discount the value of his big league time thus far.

The other players are top 15 prospects in the Pirates organization. While getting MLB-ready talent back for Lindor is the goal, adding high ceiling depth to the Indians farm can also be a winning outcome. Oneill Cruz has been moving up the MLB Top 100 for some time, and would become a great asset to the Indians prospect depth.

Brennan Malone would find himself being traded twice in two off-seasons, after the Pirates acquired him for Starling Marte, but he adds to the Indians pitching depth and keeps the pipeline strong for what has made the Indians consistent contenders, starting pitching.

The Pirates will not be trading for Lindor. In 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a payroll of $91 million, which isn’t spectacular, but competitive. They have shown a knack for spending at trade deadlines when competitive. Fast forward to 2020, and their payroll was under $50mil and they ended up spending just over $25mil in the league shortened season.

Trading the farm for Lindor and not making playoffs is an unlikely ending here. So lets move up the division and keep looking.

The Cleveland Indians and their cross state rival are no stranger to making big trades with one another. It wasn’t long ago that they agreed to move NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer from The Land to The Nati. The Reds have a small window left with Bauer, and a Bauer, Lindor reunion could be what they believe will make them a World Series contender.

For the Indians, they’d acquire two of the brightest young players on the Reds MLB roster in Nick Senzel and Aristides Aquino. Senzel has raw speed and potential to be a plus player on defense at multiple positions. The key with him, is to get his bat up to MLB levels on a consistent basis. If this sounds like Delino DeShields Jr to you, it’s because it is. His versatility and contractual control makes him enticing in any trade.

Aquino is a bit more exciting if you are looking for instant impacts. Aquino played 56 games in 2019, and hit 18 home runs for the Reds. His OPS was .891 in those games, but in 2020 he became a platoon player and in the limited at-bats only had an OPS of .623, 2HRs in 23 games.

This is a big time haul for the Indians to land two experienced MLB level players, who still haven’t hit their ceiling. Would the Reds do this for a one-year run with Lindor? Possibly, they have already made moves for Bauer knowing they’d only have a little over two seasons of time with him. If the Reds believe their free agent moves have made Aquino and Senzel more tradable, then this makes a lot of sense.

Both players would be projects, and the Indians giving a lower ceiling prospect in addition to Lindor, like Jake Bauers makes this deal more realistic. Bauers offensive game, would play extremely well in Great American Ballpark, and he would lessen any depth concerns with trading away Senzel and Aquino.

I view the Reds as a likely trading partner given the previous relationship between the two teams. The challenge is, what will the Indians accept as a fair return, and what will the Reds give up for one year of Lindor?

With the dilemma of Francisco Lindor possibly being a one-year rental, a lot of teams may not give up top prospects. However, teams will sacrifice some controllable MLB level players instead of using their farm.

For the Cardinals, adding Lindor would be a table setter in their lineup ahead of Paul Goldschmidt. They are a franchise known for winning, and could spend if they felt the fit with Lindor was working. Both items that would check Lindor’s boxes for a long-term landing spot. This alone makes the Cardinals willing to risk some of its future, on a trial with Lindor.

This move while maybe not jaw dropping makes a lot of sense for the Cleveland Indians, if they plan to simply re-shuffle while cutting costs. Paul DeJong is a solid shortstop and would be an instant starter. DeJong recently signed a six-year deal with St. Louis in 2018, and has team options thru 2025. DeJong is a positive WAR player every year since 2017, and while 2020 wasn’t his best, it’s easy to overlook given the challenges the Cardinals faced with COVID scheduling all season. He’d bring a winning pedigree, solid defense, and playoff experience that would fit in well with an Indians team still looking to contend every season.

Tyler O’Neill would joining the Indians outfield shuffle. It’s not a sure thing he’d start over the likes of the current Indians outfielders, but he adds to the competition. As a pre-arbitration player, O’Neill would have multiple seasons to find ways to contribute.

This doesn’t have to be a big splash to work. The Cleveland Indians need the Lindor trade to extend their competitive years, and adding two experienced players who can contribute immediately, including a starting shortstop, would check the box for a Francisco Lindor trade.

Prior to COVID disruptions, the Cubs actually were one of the most likely landing spots for Lindor. They do have a star shortstop in Javy Baez, but also Baez is a close friend whom the prospect of playing together may allow for either to shift positions. This isn’t unimaginable, Alex Rodriguez made the shift to third base when he joined Derek Jeter and the Yankees.

However, the Cubs, like the Indians, have also expressed a desire to cut payroll. They, like the Indians, are looking to spend on their star shortstop for a long-term deal. If the Indians can absorb close to the same payroll that Lindor would bring in a trade, then the Cubs may still make the deal if they can cut costs in other transactions.

This is why the Cubs send back Kris Bryant and his $18.6 million price tag in 2021. Get fans back into Wrigley Field, and the Cubs may decide to keep Lindor, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to see value in bringing Lindor to Chicago. Would the price of Baez and Lindor be different if they could play together? It’s a risk they may be willing to try for one season.

For the Cleveland Indians you get a big bat in return in Kris Bryant. He could potentially be flipped again at the trade deadline depending on the Indians standings, or a valuable bat to keep their offense competitive. The problem with Bryant, is his offense took a steep drop in 2020, going from a .903 OPS in 2019 down to .644 in 2020. That drop would be why the Indians can ask for more than just a salary swap.

Adding in some pitching in this deal to help the Cubs allows them to sweeten the other player in return which is Nico Hoerner. Hoerner is a former 2018 first round pick, who entering 2020 was the Cubs top prospect. Hoerner has significant trade value, and is the gem of this trade. For the Cubs, they are looking at Hoerner in alternative positions since Baez is set at SS. Later this season, Hoerner got the majority of his starts at second base rather than SS.

Hoerner has already made the majors for Chicago, and while the Cubs may not be willing to part with him, the Indians certainly have the pitching the Cubs would covet to try to pull a long-term building block in any deal from Chicago.

Overall, there are multiple trades that make sense between the Cubs and Indians. The biggest hurdle will be the Cubs front office situation. What is their operating budget for 2021? If this deal took place a year ago, bigger names and more offense would have been included back to the Cleveland Indians.