Francisco Lindor Discusses His Future in Cleveland
During an end-of-the-season media Zoom call on Thursday, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor offered his thoughts on what the future could hold. Lindor addressed the media just hours after the team was swept by the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series.
Lindor began the call by addressing whether he has seriously thought about getting traded this offseason. The 26-year old went onto say, “It’s crossed my mind because a lot of you have mentioned it. I haven’t sat back and though about it. On social media, that’s all they talk about it…I haven’t thought about it deeply enough to say, ‘This could be my last game.'”
The Indians shortstop is set to enter his final year of arbitration next year. He will then presumably hit free agency and there should be plenty of suitors. However, he still believes there is a chance the Indians could reach an extension with him. When asked about that, Lindor “noted it’s a $1 billion [dollar] team. Of course they can.”
Speaking of money, Lindor went onto say, “I would love to say spend money. But that’s (owner Paul) Dolan’s money.” Cleveland is a small market team due to the market size in the area. As such, that leads to complications when it comes to spending a significant amount of money on the team’s payroll despite the potential of the team having a surplus of money laying around. Team’s don’t open up their finances to the general public beyond the general payroll figures so it is hard to say what financial state the Indians organization is currently in.
Lindor closed his Zoom call by saying, “I can’t control the future. I can’t control the [moves] the organization makes. What I can control is how happy I am and how hard I work.”
Francisco Lindor’s 2020 Season
Lindor concluded the 2020 regular season playing in all 60-games. He recorded 266 plate appearances over that span in which he hit: .258/.335/.415 with 61 hits, 13 doubles, eight home runs, 27 RBI, 24 walks, and 41 strikeouts. Furthermore, over that sample he had a walk rate of 9.0% and a .280 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP).
Throughout the year, Lindor bounced between the leadoff spot and third in the lineup. Overall, it was a down season for him and in a usual season, Lindor is very good in a number of situations including runners in scoring position (RISP). In those situations this season, he hit: .167/.288/.300 with a .191 BABIP.
Looking Ahead
At the end of the day, the Cleveland Indians will likely receive a lot of interest in Francisco Lindor this offseason. Considering that they have made him available on the trade market dating back to the 2019 July 31st Trade Deadline, there’s a good chance a trade happens. Of course, the Indians could view it as a situation where they have enough pieces to put a true contending team around him too.
However, with the lack of offense this season, the Indians need to keep all of their options open. If acquiring a power bat is an option via trade for Lindor, then the Indians need to consider it. For now, it is unclear just how this ends up turning out.
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