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3 blockbuster Mariners trade ideas for Francisco Lindor
It has been made clear that Francisco Lindor will not be re-signing with the Cleveland Indians. Now in his final year in Cleveland, could the Mariners swing a trade for the superstar shortstop?
Francisco Lindor enters this offseason with his final year of arbitration waiting for him. It will also be his last year in Cleveland as a member of the Indians as it has been made clear that he will not be signing an extension.
Talks broke down between both sides on an extension last year and Indians owner Paul Dolan has made some strong statements about Lindor’s future in Cleveland. Dolan has said things like “enjoy him” while he is still in Cleveland and has said there is no way they give out a $300 million contract.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today added a report from his sources with the Indians that confirmed the beliefs that Lindor not only will not be in Cleveland long term, but he will also be traded before the start of this season.
Cleveland, strapped for money, intend to trade All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor by opening day, several rival teams have been informed. Lindor earned $17.5 million last season and is projected to earn about $21 million in salary arbitration in his final year before free agency
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 5, 2020
So, this leaves 29 other teams wondering what they can do to acquire the superstar. Lindor is a generational talent. Only 26 years old, Lindor has an .833 OPS over his entire 6-year career in the majors. He finished second in rookie of the year voting in 2015, and then went on a stretch of 4 All-Star Games, 3 top 10 MVP finishes, 2 Gold Gloves, and 2 Silver Sluggers.
He has a remarkable 28.4 career WAR, never falling below 3.5 in offensive WAR, and 1.0 in defensive WAR for a full season. Even though Lindor had his worst offensive season with a .750 OPS in 2020 (Which was still above average at 102 OPS+), his trade value will still be for a generational talent.
So if the Mariners wanted to get in the market for Lindor to burst out of the rebuild, what would a trade for him look like? I have three ideas based on how the Indians might approach the next few years without their franchise superstar.
Mariners and Indians swap shortstops, plus Cleveland gets outfield help
The Indians are in a spot where they need offensive help now to partner with their terrific starting rotation and bullpen, and they should not be looking to rebuild as they went 35-25 last season and cant waste one of the best rotations in baseball. Insert a trade that gives the Mariners a generational talent, and the Indians a Lindor replacement plus addresses their biggest need.
The Indians outfield might have been the worst position group of any team in the playoffs. They did not have a single player with an OPS over .663, not including Franmil Reyes who spent the majority of the year as the teams full-time DH.
Acquiring Haniger, a player that will provide All-Star level offensive help if he comes back healthy and can perform as he did in 2017 and 2018, along with the Mariners #9 prospect Jake Fraley, who is MLB ready with hitting and power grades of 50, who greatly help the Indians struggling outfield.
It would obviously be hard for the Mariners to part with JP Crawford as he had the best year of his career at age 25, with his best OPS+ (92), highest WAR (1.4 in just 53 games), and was a Gold Glove Award finalist. But, JP is nowhere close to the offensive talent that Lindor is and he will be eligible for free agency in just 3 years.
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This trade makes sense for both sides as the Indians get the help they need now, and the Mariners give up 3 players who might not be in their future plans. This would be a trade that the Indians would take if they get desperate and can live with not getting a potential generational talent, and instead get three players who are/could become fringe All-Stars in positions they need.
Indians want to rebuild so Mariners help them with their outfield, plus they send over their top shortstop prospect
If the Indians want to go full rebuild mode to save money, or they figure that their current roster (minus Lindor) and farm system is not good enough, then the Mariners would have the offer that Cleveland needs.
The Indians would be able to address their biggest need by acquiring two outfield prospects with this trade. Not only do the Indians have a horrible offensive outfield, but they also only have one outfielder in their MLB.com top 15 prospects list and he isn’t projected to make it to the majors until 2023.
Braden Bishop is the Mariners’ 18th ranked prospect and has MLB experience. While he has not been able to hit in his limited opportunities in the majors, he has hit well in the Minors and his defense could make him the Indians starting center fielder for the next 6 years starting opening day 2021.
Taylor Trammell would be the centerpiece of this trade as he is the Mariners #5 prospect, and is the #51 prospect in the MLB. Acquired from the Padres last season, Trammell would figure to be a key piece in the Mariners rebuild and is projected to debut in 2021 by MLB.com. However, with the Mariners’ wealth of outfield prospects, receiving a superstar like Lindor would certainly make it worth losing Trammell.
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Another big piece to this trade would be the Indians receiving the Mariners #7 prospect, young shortstop Noelvi Marte. Marte is just 19 years of age and is not projected to be in the majors until 2023 according to MLB.com. Marte heading to Cleveland in the deal would make sense as the Indians could acquire a potential Lindor replacement for the future, while the Mariners would still have JP Crawford, Ty France, Dylan Moore, Tim Lopes, and Shed Long all competing to partner with Lindor in the middle infield.
Indians only want outfield help and look for help now and for the future, while the Mariners also ask for a reliever
If the Indians were to say that they only want outfielders, and they want guys who can help their offense next year and for many years into the future, the Mariners would also have the deal for them. This possible deal would also have Cleveland being extra pesky when it comes to Lindor’s value, asking for a lot of outfield help in return. However don’t worry, because Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto will not leave with just Lindor.
Along with the aforementioned top prospects Taylor Trammell and Jake Fraley, who could both be offensive contributors for the Indians outfield next year, Cleveland would also be receiving the Mariners utility man Dylan Moore. While Moore is 28 years old, he still has 4 more years of team control and he had an excellent shortened 2020 season.
In just 38 games played, Moore had an incredible OPS+ of 139, along with 8 home runs in just 159 plate appearances. He would also offer an insane amount of versatility with MLB experience at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF. Moore also has a Baseball Savant page that has statistics that would lead people to believe that his short 2020 was not just a fluke or a hot streak.
Because of the offensive talent of Moore and multiple top 10 prospects heading the Indians way, Cleveland would have to send Emmanuel Clase the other way to Seattle. Clase is a 22-year-old right-handed reliever that matches Dipoto’s beloved mold with two pitches, a 99 mph fastball (with cutter movement), and a hard slider.
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Clase had a 2.31 ERA and a 3.43 FIP in 23.1 innings pitched in 2019 but missed the 2020 season due to an 80 game P.E.D. suspension. If the Indians are ok with giving the Mariners Clase in the deal because of his suspension, he could be a steal for the Mariners on top of receiving Lindor.