Indians Trading Francisco Lindor Seems 'Inevitable'

For the Cleveland Indians, there is no winning in what to do about star shortstop Francisco Lindor. It's more like degrees of losing.

The Indians seem to know that, and according to ESPN's Buster Olney, they are prepared to "aggressively" listen to trade offers. That makes sense. The alternative may be to lose Lindor for nothing in free agency at the end of the 2021 season.

Olney surmised that a trade appears "inevitable." His report follows one from Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, who wrote that the Indians hope to work out a Lindor trade before the start of the season. Pluto believes that the Indians have specifically targeted the Toronto Blue Jays and their infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Along with the Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals may also be interested in Lindor. So that covers the major markets plus a few others who could use a boost in wins and fan enthusiasm.

Lindor, 27, is definitely the type of talent that could give it to them, despite the fact that he batted a career-low .258 last season. He also finished with eight home runs and 27 RBI. Lindor is a two-time Gold Glove winner (2016 and '19).

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Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.