The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lindor’s worth on open market mind-boggling
For most of us, Francisco Lindor’s salaries the past three seasons would provide a comfort level well beyond what we need or want. Ona big-league scale, it was peanuts. For a Major League player the caliber of Lindor, the Indians have reaped the benefits of a grossly underpaid player. That is until this season. The Indians shortstop recently agreed to a $10.55 million deal for 2019 to avoid arbitration. Lindor’s yearly salaries the last three seasons are: • 2018: $623,200 • 2017: $579,300 • 2016: $540,300 Included in those salaries is the $316,147 Lindor made when he was called up from the minors in June 2016, and finished runner-up in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year award. There’s also the $2.9 million signing bonus he received in 2011 when he was a first-round pick for the Indians. He played his first full season with the Lake County Captains in 2012. Asked on Feb. 18 about a potential long-term extension with the Indians, Lindor told Zack Meisel of The Athletic: “That’s not were we are right now. I was focused on arbitration. That’s not where I am. When it comes to longterm deals, I love the city of Cleveland. I love everything about Cleveland. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. At the end of the day, I’m playing the game to win. This is a good place where I can win, so we’ll see. If the Indians come up with the right numbers and at some point it happens — which I’m not even thinking about it — we’ll see.” The big question is what is Lindor’s worth on the open market? One of the faces of Major League Baseball, freeagent Bryce Harper, has yet to sign but there are rumors he wants more than $300 million. He might get it. The good news for the Indians is they control Lindor until 2021. The bad news is when the All-Star shortstop becomes an unrestricted free agent, he could be completely out of the team’s price range. If Lindor keeps up his current pace as arguably baseball’s best shortstop, a $300 million free-agent deal is not out of the question. That’s probably why Lindor won’t sign an extension with Cleveland, and the reason is simple. He’s been underpaid by major-league standards, and the guess here is it’s human nature with Lindor. Why limit yourself by signing an extension with the Indians now or next season? It’s reasonable to assume Lindor is interested to find out what his value is on the open market, and there’s no fault in that. In two years, it could be mindboggling. He might get a contract in the $350 million range. His representatives and anyone who follows baseball know Lindor’s marketability, personality and play is off the charts. He’s the complete baseball package. Add the fact he plays one of the game’s most coveted positions, and it’s a no-brainer: The likelihood of Lindor signing an extension with the Indians is minimal at best. Don’t forget in April 2017 — very early in the Lindor era in Cleveland — is was revealed the Indians were trying to sign the shortstop to an extension that totaled more than $100 million. It was an odd reveal as Brody Chernoff — then the six-year-old son of Indians General Manager Mike Chernoff — told Indians announcer Tom Hamilton during a spring training broadcast the team was working on a Lindor extension. The audio of that interview went viral, but the bigger picture was that two years ago the Indians already believed Lindor was a future superstar and needed to do whatever it could to stay ahead of his impending free agency. Obviously, the extension never happened, so the countdown to 2021 is upon Cleveland baseball. Indians fans, enjoy Lindor while you got him.