The Cleveland Indians have signaled that they will trade star shortstop Francisco Lindor this winter, according to multiple industry sources.
According to those sources, the Indians would ideally like a young, controllable shortstop or outfielder, though the exact price will, of course, depend on the trading partner.
The ask is expected to be higher than what the Los Angeles Dodgers paid for Mookie Betts last year, because Los Angeles took on David Price’s contract. That lowered the player acquisition cost to outfielder Alex Verdugo -- a good player, but not as good as what it could take to acquire Lindor. Cleveland doesn’t have any Price-like contracts to dump, meaning they will want more in player value.
Let’s take a brief look at whether Lindor could become a Yankee or Met.
YANKEES
The team is operating on a tighter than usual budget this winter, and would have to get creative with payroll in order to make this work. If the Yankees re-sign DJ LeMahieu, it’s likely that LeMahieu will play second base next year and Gleyber Torres shortstop.
A reunion with LeMahieu is likely, but not certain. If he finds an offer on the open market that exceeds what the Yankees are willing to do (the Mets?), the Yankees could let him walk. In that case, they would move Torres to second base and look for a shortstop.
Without LeMahieu, the Yankees might be able to make the money for Lindor work, though they could still look to move a contract like Adam Ottavino’s or Aaron Hicks'. In order to get Lindor, they would probably have to part with a player of Clint Frazier’s caliber.
Could the Yankees have LeMahieu and Lindor? That invites a question about Torres’ future with the team. Perhaps the Yanks could package Torres with Ottavino’s contract, and trade for Lindor with the intention of extending him. Ottavino could replace Brad Hand in the back end of the Indians’ bullpen.
METS
Incoming owner Steve Cohen is highly unlikely to acquire multiple high-paid star players this offseason. That could start a war with the other MLB owners who just voted to approve him. But he could snag one of Lindor or free agents like George Springer, J.T. Realmuto or Trevor Bauer.
Lindor would probably force the Mets to part with Andres Gimenez or Amed Rosario at a minimum. The question is if the Mets would have to include Dom Smith or Pete Alonso, which other teams consider likely.