The Indians keeping Lindor for 2020 is a wise move, there's plenty of time for a deal

While many felt the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings would see the Indians trade shortstop Francisco Lindor, now the team says it's in their best interest to keep for 2020, a wise move by a team that is still a threat in the American League.

When it comes to the MLB Winter Meetings, the Indians have been active in chatting and over the last couple of meetings have been at the center of trade talks regarding of the biggest names on their roster.

Here again in 2019 the team is at the center of those talks, this time around franchise player, that being shortstop Francisco Lindor.

The Indians would love to keep Lindor, but the price tag is going to be likely way out of range. The former top Indians pick already has turned down a reported $100 million dollar offer a few years back.

The Indians have control of Lindor for the next two seasons, but some say that the time to deal Lindor is now. The team thinks otherwise.

Monday at the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings Monday in San Diego it was reported by Jon Heyman that the Indians are more interested in keeping Lindor for 2020, instead of shipping him to another team.

Despite the chance to pick up a number of top prospects and maybe a Major League ready player or two, the Indians feel the chance to keep Lindor on their roster for at least 2020 is more important.

The Indians have plenty of time to shop Lindor, including the trade deadline in 2020 or even at the 2020 MLB Winter Meetings as he will enter the final year the Indians can have control over him.

The move to declare that the team wants to keep Lindor for 2020 is a smart one by the Tribe, as the price tag for the 26-year-old isn’t likely to go down anytime soon.

If Lindor can have another solid season in 2020, who knows what the Indians can demand for a player that could the face of a franchise for years to come, and one that could demand anywhere from $250 to $350 million on the open market.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team that seems to be very much in the mix to be a suitor for Lindor, and while number one prospect Gavin Lux is reportedly not being offered, a year can make a difference, and it will be interesting to see if his name is offered next offseason.

Either way, the Indians seem to be all too aware of the public relations nightmare that would come with dealing Lindor, and what the fan base may say if Lindor isn’t on the roster at the start of 2020 could be brutal for attendance at Progressive Field.

It’s yet another reason to be smart and wait, there’s no rush to trade Lindor off the roster right now, and there will be more prospects, more trade offers, and more good players out there that will get dangled for the Tribe shortstop.

The front office has shown the ability to be wise in the past about when to make a move (or not), and it’s smart to not rush into anything right now for Lindor if the team doesn’t have to.

Which they don’t.