The Indians have agreed to a 2019 salary with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports (Twitter links). It’s a $10.55MM deal, checking in just shy of the first-year arb-eligible record set last year by Kris Bryant at $10.85MM.
Lindor had projected to earn $10.2MM after a stellar three-plus season run to open his career in Cleveland. He’ll remain controllable for two more campaigns before reaching free agent eligibility after the end of the 2021 season.
The switch-hitting Lindor, who only just turned 25 years of age, just turned in his best season at the plate, leading the American League in plate appearances and runs while launching a career-high 38 long balls and 25 stolen bases. He slashed a robust .277/.352/.519 on the year while providing top-end glovework making him one of the most valuable players in all of baseball.
Make that……
(Future Yankee) Francisco Lindor
So the Yankees get Harper, Machado, Arenado, Trout and Lindor? All that and they’ll still be a wildcard team because their league average pitching rotation.
Controlled by the Indians through 2021. 2021 traded by Indians at trade deadline to Red Sox for top prospects. Yankees can only watch and weep.
@ jjp;
Why would da Yankees “watch and weep”?
Frankie has turned down Indians talk of an extension.
He wants to play for da Yankees so badly it shows. If he remains healthy, that’s where goes……
And I’m no Yankee fan.
When has he shown how badly he wants to play for the Yankees?
I’ve never seen anything about him wanting to play for the Stankees.
The Red Sox won’t have any prospects in the system by then :)
they have none now…and why will they swing this deadline deal only for him to make mega at free agency? dumb
I love baseball but being an Indians fan and supporting a team with around $200 mil in revenue on average, I know the MLB doesn’t care about us. The Yankees and Red Sox can eclipse $600 mil in total revenue and just rape us of all our talent when contracts expire. People who say it’s ownership and not the league are complete idiots. The Indians operating income as a whole is around $30 mil a season. That gets spread through the whole ownership group itself. No one bats an eye when Lindor turns down a $25 mil annual contract by the Indians but the same people call ownership cheap when they don’t operate in the red to win.
It’s a totally unfair economic system where big markets have a gigantic advantage. The best is when NY, BOS, and LA fans talk smack to small market fans. Get a clue.
Of course.. everyone is a future yankee.. *cue eye roll*
You know, instead of spamming MLBTR with articles about players and arbitration, couldn’t we just have one big article for players and teams that avoided it and another about players and teams going through it?
I’m not sure I agree, KTM. This is a baseball news site, after all, and getting a quick heads up when minor news happens is nice. I have been waiting for Lindor arbitration news and it was good to have it come across by itself. The alternative is to have to constantly search that one, large story every half a hour or so.
KTM……sounds like an abbreviation for a serial killer.
More personal insults, huh?
It’s called humor. Try it sometime.
Big arb deals make the weakening free agent deals look more okay
And a bargain at that price…
I’d say that’s a steal for him,. Funny how salaries in baseball work
Glenbrook Torres is a younger version of Lindor. Yankees don’t need him.