How The Yankees Can Land Francisco Lindor

The Yankees could go with Gleyber Torres at shortstop next season, but Francisco Lindor is the option that most Yankees fans want them to go after. 

As expected, the Cleveland Indians are open to trading their superstar franchise shortstop as his payday looms. The most notable suitors to this point have been the Padres, Reds, and the Dodgers. All three organizations can offer intriguing packages, but there are questions of what the packages might look like if there is hesitation to include prized studs, Nick Senzel/Johnathan India of the Reds, Gavin Lux from the Dodgers, and especially Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres (who should absolutely be off-limits). 

Although the Yankees interest in Lindor hasn’t been much of a story, Buster Olney of ESPN programmed the potential of a deal in the back of Yankee fans’ minds when he predicted the perennial All-Star would land with the Yankees earlier this year. 

Bomber fans just watched Didi Gregorius, their shortstop of the past five seasons, waltz into Philadelphia to reunite with former Yankee manager Joe Girardi, which leaves the position to be manned by the 23-year-old star, Gleyber Torres. Unless of course, the Yankees decide to bring in another experienced shortstop and allow Torres to continue his growth at second base. This is where the fit for Francisco Lindor comes into focus.

By trading for Lindor, the Yankees are not only inserting a switch-hitter into an extremely right-handed lineup, but they are also upgrading themselves at shortstop with a 4x all-star, a 2x gold glover and 2x silver slugger. Lindor would instantly add speed, power, and premium defense to the Yankees infield, pairing up with his good friend Gio Urshela on the left-side. Despite Lindor being under contract for just two more seasons, the Indians will understandably ask for a lot in return. Here are three potential packages the Yankees could put together to acquire baseball’s best shortstop.

TRADE 1:

Package-Type: Top Prospect Haul

Brian Cashman doesn’t like to let go of too many valuable prospects for one guy, so it is ideal to assume that 4 prospects for the best shortstop in baseball is fair. 4 top Yankees prospects could absolutely get the deal done in a competitive market for Lindor. 

NYY Gets:

• SS Francisco Lindor

CLE Gets:

• RHP Deivi Garcia 
• RHP Albert Abreu 
• OF Estevan Florial 
• IF Ezequiel Duran

Analysis: This trade allows the Yankees to get their shortstop, while the Indians get 4 strong top prospects. Deivi Garcia and Albert Abreu can grow in the Indians organization and rotation for years to come, while Florial would help the Indian’s seemingly never-ending search for outfielders. Duran is a nice piece who could profile as a second baseman in the future if the Indians decide to keep Jose Ramirez at Third. 

On the contrary, it is extremely difficult for any team to let go of prospects in their top 10, especially 3 of them. In this case, the Yankees would be sending off a potential top of the rotation arm, flame-throwing 24-year-old, potential 5 tool center fielder, and a middle infielder with high upside, especially at the plate. This also might be hard for the Indians to pull the trigger on, as they may not be comfortable moving the face of their franchise for prospects who haven’t proved anything at the major league level.