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.
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.