Dodgers set to make big move after Mets-Francisco Lindor trade?
The Dodgers might be ready to strike after the Mets-Francisco Lindor trade.
Look, the Los Angeles Dodgers trading for Francisco Lindor never really felt like it was atop their offseason to-do list. They already have Corey Seager, and even if they were to move him to third base, there’s Gavin Lux ready to shift on over, assuming he’s still held in high regard in the front office.
On top of that, acquiring Lindor would pretty much mean you’re ditching your World Series MVP after 2021, right? Or moving him to third base full-time? And we don’t even know how realistic that is. While Seager’s in a contract year and being a client of Scott Boras hardly bodes well for teams looking to save a few bucks, his fit with the Dodgers really couldn’t be any better.
Acquiring Lindor seemingly would’ve created more problems than solutions … unless, of course, the price was right. Getting your hands on one of the game’s best players at a discount is almost always the right thing to do. But it appears as if the Dodgers were unable to do that in their talks with the Cleveland Indians.
Therefore, Lindor was traded to the New York Mets on Thursday.
According to Jake Storiale of Jomboy Media, the Dodgers apparently didn’t want to go beyond what they were comfortable with to acquire Lindor. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman likes to have things his way in trade talks, so that’s not surprising. He wasn’t going to get into a bidding war for a shortstop when he already has an elite one.
However, their trademark transaction could be on the way sooner than fans might think. The Dodgers are always good for one blockbuster each offseason and they won’t be standing pat after winning the World Series.
Who’s next? Justin Turner? DJ LeMahieu? A trade for Eugenio Suarez and Luis Castillo? What about Kris Bryant? Nolan Arenado, perhaps? Maybe even Trevor Story! All we know is that Lindor is off the table, but fans shouldn’t be upset, because that was always in the periphery anyway.
If you want to get excited, based on the reports we’ve heard recently, it could be a trade the Dodgers are cooking up. The latest on Turner and LeMahieu isn’t exactly promising, so it’s not out of the question to expect a Suarez/Castillo or Bryant trade. Let’s start there so we don’t get too out of hand.
And there’s no need for fans to worry at all at this juncture. Even with all this heavy lifting in the NL with the Mets and Padres, the Dodgers are still top dog. Any move they make from this point forward just increases their stronghold over Major League Baseball.