Cleveland Indians: 10 players that left and never looked back

Eddie Rosario #9 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
Eddie Rosario #9 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
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Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

The face of the Cleveland Indians franchise

Francisco Lindor

Being one of the top three shortstops in baseball it was only a matter of time before the Indians were forced to put their money where their mouth was. Unfortunately, their mouth must have been located in Citi Field because that’s where Lindor wound up calling home. The obvious thing to say would be, “This is the one that got away.” Well, I’ll never say that.

The saving grace to this decision was the fact that the Indians didn’t have to shell out a contract worth $341 million. In addition to that, his replacement Amed Rosario gave almost identical production for $29 million less this year. How Rosario will fare going forward is anyone’s guess but let’s take a win where we can get it and see how it goes.

To that end, I will say that the organization may have been a bit hasty when they agreed to this deal. I would venture to guess the Indians had better offers the previous year but held out hope for an extension or an offer that would knock them off their feet. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but the whole situation screams, “We waited too long.”

After an entire season to digest and see how everything played out, I stick to the fact that the Indians are winning the trade. At least they’re winning for the time being, as I have stated in a previous article. As tough as it was to see him go it was the right decision for both Lindor and the team.

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