Indians President Thinks Francisco Lindor Will Be Tribe's Opening Day Shortstop Next Season
By Chris Pyo
Apologies to Yankees and Dodgers fans, but one person high up in the Cleveland Indians organization thinks that star shortstop Francisco Lindor will be staying with the Indians, even with rumors of a trade involving him emerging this offseason.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti expects Lindor to be starting at shortstop when the Detroit Tigers come to Cleveland on March 26th, 2020.
Indians are receiving a lot of trade calls about superstar SS Francisco Lindor. But Indians baseball president Chris Antonetti said: “My expectation is Frankie will be the shortstop Opening Day next year.”
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 12, 2019
The Indians have surely received a plethora of calls from other teams about a possible deal for Lindor, who's proven to be a perennial All-Star in the league and has teams salivating over the prospect of having him in their infield for the foreseeable future.
However, Cleveland is understandably hesitant to unload Lindor, even if the Indians know that they won't be able to afford him when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season.
MLB rumors: Indians expect to keep Francisco Lindor; Cubs indicate they will trade from corehttps://t.co/rExSPUrH8T pic.twitter.com/dHCrszQUhU
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) November 13, 2019
After two more years of arbitration-level money, Lindor is expected to command a massive contract, perhaps along the lines of Bryce Harper's 13-year $330 million contract.
Lindor is one of the best middle infielders in all of baseball, and at 25 years old, he still has over a decade of prime baseball left in the tank barring any unforeseen injuries.
Unfortunately enough for every other MLB team, it looks like the Indians will do their best to retain Lindor for another year, but perhaps they can be tempted with a strong offer from a potential suitor.