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Dodgers: Possible trade packages for Francisco Lindor

By Jack Trent Dorfman

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 02: Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians dives for a ball hit by Jefry Marte #19 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home opening game at Angel Stadium on April 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 02: Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians dives for a ball hit by Jefry Marte #19 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home opening game at Angel Stadium on April 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 09: Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers drops the ball next to Kike Hernandez #14 on a Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals double in the fourth inning of game five of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Swapping Shortstops?

One of the easiest potential packages to envision would involve swapping Corey Seager and some peripheral pieces for Lindor. This makes a lot of sense on its face, especially when considering their comparative costs over the next two seasons. Here’s how Morosi broke down their arbitration values for MLB.com:

"According to projections at MLB Trade Rumors, Lindor will likely make in the neighborhood of $16 million via arbitration this season, and Seager somewhere in the $7 million range."

If this is the case, over two seasons, Lindor will likely make upwards of $30 million while Seager’s two-year total will probably fall closer to $20 million. If this is the case, then the Indians could be incentivized to make this deal. Over the last few seasons, the Indians, despite making a World Series berth back in 2016, have not gone all out spending wise, instead opting to coast to ALDS berths using their prospect depth.

For the first time in the last few seasons, the Indians missed the playoffs, largely due to a down year from José Ramirez and injury-shortened seasons for Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. This may incentivize the team to do a more complete teardown, as they already dealt Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati for young pieces from the San Diego Padres and for a year of Yasiel Puig.

If the Indians fail to extend Lindor, he will reach free agency in 2021, the same time Kluber becomes an unrestricted free agent. Ramirez also can become a free agent after the 2021 season if the team decides to decline his club option.

Basically, the Indians are in a prime position to begin a rebuild after 2021, but if they feel their window to compete now is closing, they may choose to shift some money elsewhere in favor of adding depth and younger pieces, as they did in the Bauer deal.

If the Indians went for a “Seager and more for Lindor” deal, then they would likely save a fair amount of money, especially if they forced the Dodgers to eat the salary of any additional players the team sent over.

But who would some of these satellite pieces be in a shortstop swap?

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