
The San Francisco Giants have never been afraid to make bold moves, but given the current state of their franchise, they’re very unlikely to pursue a trade for Lindor.
San Francisco won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014, but after an NL Wild Card Game victory in 2016, were knocked out of the playoffs in the NLDS by the eventual world champion Chicago Cubs and have not returned to the postseason since and now are in the midst of a rebuild.
If they were to scrap their rebuild plans and trade for Lindor, they’d have to ship away some big-name prospects from a system that ranks among baseball’s worst.
Hunter Bishop is a name that the Indians would likely target first. Bishop is San Francisco’s fourth-ranked prospect who they drafted in the first round and 10th overall of the 2019 Draft. Bishop is a 22-year old who was a star at College Baseball powerhouse Arizona State and with tremendous pop is likely to reach the majors no later than 2022.
Next, the Indians would likely target middle infielder Will Wilson. Wilson is San Francisco’s 11th ranked prospect and was drafted in the first round of the 2019 Draft by the Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Giants last December.
The former NC State star hit .275 in rookie ball in 2019 and is another prospect on a fast track to the majors that could help Cleveland by 2022.
Finally, Cleveland could finish the package with right-handed pitching prospect Tristan Beck. Beck is the Giants’ 19th ranked prospect who was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 Draft by the Atlanta Braves. In parts of two minor league systems, he has posted a 3.77 ERA pitching and reached High-A ball at the end of the 2019 season.
This package would be one of risk for the Indians but with huge upside, especially with Bishop, who has star potential in the outfield.