Don’t Count On The Cleveland Indians To Pay Up For Fransisco Lindor
Image:Ross D. Franklin (AP)
Fransisco Lindor is worth more than Manny Machado. Because of this, Lindor should receive more than Machado’s 10-year $300 million offer. As soon as Frankie hits free agency after the 2021 season, it’s going to be a free-for-all to get him. Although, it’s safe to say the Cleveland Indians will be out of the running.
We know Paul Dolan is a cheap owner. The Indians, who should win the A.L. Central once again, have done the All-in move before. They’ve still yet to bring home the coveted World Series Trophy. Perhaps that’s why the Indians front office has made cost-cutting measures to eliminate some payroll.
The window isn’t necessarily closing on the Indians. They’ve still got time to compete. Their Division is still two or three years away from being competitive. These cost-cutting measures are still going to keep them in contention, it’s just outside of the division and into the playoffs which the team will suffer.
This becomes a vicious circle. If the team doesn’t win the big games in September and October, the spending will continue to drop. And it needs to be perfectly clear that they will not sign Fransisco Lindor to a massive deal. There’s no chance of the front office making a move if the team isn’t winning when it counts.
The Cleveland Indians don’t have the highest attendance rates at their home games. A lot of the viewership comes from the TV deal. This certainly doesn’t bode well for the team’s future. If less and less show up to the park, less and less money will be put into helping the team. Fans will continue to see reduced payroll because of it.
Lindor will command a massive paycheck. He’s one of baseball’s brightest stars. Lindor led A.L. shortstops in home runs (38) and hits (183) in 2018. He was also 4th in batting average (.277). Machado posted similar stats, with 37 home runs, 188 hits, and .297 batting average.
Here’s where Lindor bridges the gap. His WAR is 7.9, while Machado has a WAR of 5.7. That’s a full two wins better for Lindor. If you don’t think that’s a significant difference, you’d be totally mistaken. Teams will pay a much higher price for that stat alone. Lindor is one of the best defensive players in all of baseball.
If the Indians are to somehow re-sign Lindor, it’ll come at a cost of more than $30 million per year. They’ll also be on the books for at least the same amount of years as Machado, assuming Lindor wants the same job security.
Fransisco Lindor was asked about the potential of signing an extension. He opted to dodge the question, a smart move. It’s too early for him to be thinking about a new deal. It just doesn’t look good for the Indians. If the wanted to stay with the team, he’d have said the Cleveland Indians were the team he wanted to retire with.
“That’s not where we are right now. We’ll see what happens. At the end of the day, I’m playing the game to win, and this is a good place for me to win. If the Indians come up with the right numbers and some point it happens — and I’m not even thinking about it — we’ll see.”
That was Lindor’s response to signing with Cleveland. He said it’s the best place to win right now. Will that be the same situation in 3 years? Can we assume the Indians are going to come up with the right numbers for a contract?
If the cost-cutting measures continue, don’t expect Fransisco Lindor to sign long-term with the Cleveland Indians. There’s no chance of the team investing that much to anyone if the business doesn’t pick up at the ballpark.
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
