Despite an End to Contract Talks, Indians SS Lindor Continues to Lead by Example

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor has turned the page on contract talks with the team and has stopped negotiating as he prepares for the 2020 campaign. Many think that this could be the last season he spends in a Tribe uniform as it's no secret the team wants to get something for him in return before letting him walk in free agency after the 2021 season.

While Major League Baseball along with the other major professional sports leagues around the country all have the ‘pause’ button hit right now, the business of baseball will still go on when it comes to the Indians and shortstop Francisco Lindor.

The 26-year-old has been very diplomatic when it comes to talking about money and his contract, and this past week he announced that he was putting contract talks for 2020 aside so that he can get more focused and prepared for the upcoming season.

It’s a disappointing but a predictable end for Lindor and the Indians when it comes to negotiations, as the two sides talked but reports say never really got close to getting anything concrete done to keep him in Cleveland long term.

Thursday, prior to the announcements that the rest of spring training was being cancelled and that the season would be pushed back at least two weeks, Lindor spoke to the media about his decision to not continue contract talks with the team that drafted him eighth overall in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft.

“Like I said now it’s in the past and we are focusing on baseball and winning,” Lindor said. “I want to win and hopefully we can get through this situation that we are going through right now.”

The ‘situation’ that Lindor was referencing was the concerns with health around the sport and people getting sick due to the COVID-19 virus.

Right now the shortstop certainly has a lot on his plate with the season upcoming, but also sees the bigger picture of what is happening in the country and world and knows that his contract means little in comparison.

“It feels like the contract thing means very little compared to what is happening, health issues for other people a contract doesn’t really matter,” Lindor said.

Indians manager Terry Francona is counting on Lindor, no matter how long he remains with the team, to be one of their leaders in 2020 on and off the field.

The 26-year-old has always led by example, and until the stoppage of spring training on Thursday he was again leading by example.

In 10 games this spring Lindor is hitting .400 with three homers and 10 runs batted in.

He’s also showing young players who are getting their first look at playing at the Major League level how it should be done on a daily basis.

“We talked a little bit about leadership and stuff like that because he is such a leader,” Francona said.

It would be easy for Lindor to use the ongoing contract talks as a reason to be distracted, but he’s not doing that and instead is using the situation as a positive as much as he can.

It’s hard to imagine Lindor not giving his all when the team is able to get back on the field, whenever that may be, and that again he should be counted on as a team leader in 2020 no matter what the future holds for the shortstop.

“Frankie, his energy out of the box this spring has been 100 percent every single time, and to me that’s leadership,” Francona said.

“Those types of things, it shows me that no matter what he might be thinking about or what he talked about or what he didn’t talk about, he’s taking care of business on the field.”