Heading into the offseason one of the marquee players who potentially would be shopped on the trade market was Cleveland Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor.
The 26-year-old is under team control for two more seasons but with his arbitration number expected to be extremely high, reports indicated that the Indians could trade Lindor due to payroll.
One of the teams with presumed interest in Lindor is the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although they are coming off a seventh-straight National League West title and franchise-record 106 games, L.A. failed to win the World Series once again after being eliminated by the Washington Nationals in the NL Division Series.
The Dodgers already have a shortstop in Corey Seager, but he could be a trade candidate if they are able to acquire a player of Lindor’s caliber at shortstop.
It appears there may not be any sort of deal in the works though as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman just spoke very highly of Seager and his outlook for the 2020 season. Additionally, Indians president Chris Antonetti doesn’t seem to be in a rush to trade Lindor, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
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 Dodgers have a number of offseason needs to address, and one of them is to add a right-handed bat to the top or middle of their already-potent lineup. While Lindor fits that description as a switch-hitter that typically hit leadoff for Cleveland, replacing Seager with him doesn’t represent as big of an upgrade as acquiring a player of another position.
In addition to Lindor, the Dodgers could also have interest in Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts on the trade market, as well as a pair of third baseman in free agency in the form of Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson.
Antonetti may be set on keeping Lindor now, but the Dodgers certainly can put together a package worthy of acquiring the four-time All-Star if he changes his mind at any point this winter.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
