Cleveland Indians: Get to know the players from the Francisco Lindor trade

The new members of the Cleveland Indians following the Francisco Lindor trade

The Cleveland Indians officially traded star shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, so it’s time to take a deep dive into the players coming to Cleveland. While fans of the Cleveland Indians didn’t get the blockbuster deal they were hoping for, they still managed to bring in four solid players.

Of the four players coming to Cleveland, two will immediately have an impact on the field while the other two will spend time in the minors before showing what they can do at the big league level. Those players are Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene.

Under new ownership, the New York Mets were rumored to be in the market for a big splash, particularly a trade for Francisco Lindor. Now, it’s become official that the Cleveland Indians have sent their star shortstop, along with a key starting pitcher, to the Big Apple.

For Cleveland, the future now has more question marks than ever. While Lindor was expected to be traded this offseason and rumors circulated about Carrasco as well, most speculation expected a larger return to the Tribe. The unfortunate reality for the players coming to Cleveland is now the added pressure.

Not only were they traded for the club’s best player, but they were part of an underwhelming return. That combination will make for an uphill climb for all four players to play up to the standards of what is now expected of them. Rosario is the oldest of the bunch at 25-years old, so this trade will follow these players throughout their entire career.

But who are they and what do they bring to Cleveland? While the initial reaction is negative that Lindor and Carrasco will be gone, there might be an underlying positive about the four new additions to the Cleveland Indians organization.

Amed Rosario

As mentioned on the previous slide, Amed Rosario is the oldest player coming to the Cleveland Indians in the Francisco Lindor trade at just 25-years old. He also brings more than three years of major league experience, including a total of 403 games played, including 387 at shortstop.

Rosario has been a steady fielder for the Mets with a fielding percentage of .969, but he posted his best season at the position in 2020 with a mark of .981. As for at the plate, he’s been middle of the road there as well. During the 2020 season he slashed .252/.272/.371 over the course of 46 games. Those numbers have pretty much been on par with his career stats as well, being just a tad lower.

There are a few positives to Rosario. For one, he has MLB experience and will provide the needed bridge until prospects like Tyler Freeman and Gabrial Arias are ready to make their debut. The second positive is he has speed potential. While he didn’t steal a base in 2020, he did snag 24 in 2019. The downside, he led baseball in caught stealing at 10. The final positive is of course money.

Rosario will join the Cleveland Indians with three years of club control. His final season of arbitration will be 2023 before becoming a free agent in 2024, so he will likely be a cheap contract on the books for multiple seasons.

Andres Gimenez

In terms of immediate return combined with long-term potential, Andres Gimenez is most likely the best piece of this deal. He already has 49 games under his belt in the majors and currently will be under team control through the 2025 season.

During the 2020 season, Gimenez started 22 games at shortstop, four at second and three at third, but appeared at each position much more frequently becoming a jack-of-all-trades in the infield. When it was all said and done, he had been at short during 23 games, second for 19 and third for 10. Despite all the moving around, he was still able to post a .983 fielding percentage, including .987 at shortstop and a perfect 1.000 at second.

Being tabbed by many as a future Gold Glove Award candidate, if not winner, Gimenez will still have a bit of work to be done of the offensive side of the ball. His slash line last season was at .263/.333/.398 and he was able to swipe eight bases. He even finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Being just 22-years old with lots of club control left, there’s a lot to like about Gimenez. Of the four players, he’s the one fans should be the most excited about.