2020 for the Cleveland Indians and Francisco Lindor has been an awkward year to say the least.
The Tribe could’ve moved its star shortstop this past winter when his trade value peaked, but chose not to. Contract extension talks appeared to be taking place between the two sides, but were tabled in March. In the time since, a report from Keith Law claimed Lindor isn’t even interested in negotiating with Cleveland, instead intent to hit free agency after the 2021 season.
The situation has left the Indians in a pickle.
With a 2020 season expected to be around 80 games long, there won’t be enough time to diligently weigh out a trade of this magnitude. Likewise, a year without ticket revenue may make the idea of giving Lindor another arbitration-avoiding pay raise less appealing. On top of that, trading him this offseason will result in Cleveland netting significantly less in return.
All in all, the Indians are basically spending the next few months between a rock and a hard place, unless they just decide to open the 2020 season by dealing Lindor.
Is that something Cleveland should consider?
Casey Drottar is an Cleveland Indians writer for Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to his podcast, or follow him on Twitter and Facebook