The Francisco Lindor trade worked out for both sides
On January 7th, 2021, the then-Cleveland Indians and the New York Mets agreed to a trade that would change the outlook of both teams for years to come. The main piece in that trade was superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor.
Cleveland was not going to be able to pay Lindor the contract that he wanted, so they sought after a suitor who would. It just so happened that new Mets owner Steve Cohen was looking to make a splash for his recently purchased team. The trade was made, Lindor was waiting to be paid by the club and both sides discussed terms tirelessly throughout the offseason. Over 80 days later, the two sides agreed to a deal. Francisco Lindor would plan to be a Met for the following 10 years, and get paid a whopping $341 million for his services.
Looking back on the Lindor trade in hindsight, it truly worked out for both sides. New York’s return was flashy and star-studded, while Cleveland’s was sneaky but valuable. Let’s jump into exactly what went down between these two clubs.
New York’s Return:
Of course, the Mets acquired Francisco Lindor as the main piece of the deal. Lindor, probably distracted and enamored with the bright lights of New York, struggled mightily in his first year as a Met from the dish. He had an exactly average OPS+ year, sitting at 100 (league average is 100).
Lindor finished with a career-low .230 batting average, as well as a career-low .734 OPS. This was the year the Mets acquired Javier Báez in a move to seemingly make Lindor happy. The club struggled along the way, finishing 77-85.
This year was not one for Lindor to want to remember, but he still put on a show with the glove at shortstop, at least one thing for Mets’ fans to be happy about. Lindor’s breakout game was one against the Yankees at Citi Field late in the season, where he crushed three home runs. He would proceed to get on a hitting streak from there.
Maybe some of that anti-Yankee magic helped propel Lindor the next season because he was awesome again in 2022. In his first season where he really felt confident at the dish, Lindor did amazing things.
He set the Mets club record for home runs as a shortstop with 26. He’d go on to set the RBI record for shortstops with New York as well, posting 107 of them. Lindor finished 9th in NL MVP voting.
As Lindor went, so did the Mets. The club won 101 games, their most since 1986. The early 2023 season has shown more of the same for Lindor, who currently leads all position players in WAR, according to Baseball Reference.
Some forget that along with the Lindor acquisition, New York also acquired starter Carlos Carrasco, who was a bit of a wild card. He missed a lot of 2021 with injury and pitched poorly in the 12 starts that he made.
Similarly to Lindor, Carrasco had a career revitalization in 2022, starting 29 games and winning 15 of them, the second-highest total in his career. He had an above-average 3.97 ERA, though the right-hander has gotten off to a rough start so far. But Carrasco has a whole season to try and bring down his inflated stats.
Overall, New York got a really nice return from the trade. They got their leader and shortstop for the next decade while acquiring a nice pitching piece. However, what did they have to give up?
Cleveland’s Return:
Cleveland got four players in return for dealing Carrasco and Lindor. They acquired Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez, and prospects Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene. Let’s start with the middle infield duo.
Giménez and Rosario were solid for New York in 2021 and were poised to be the next infield duo for the Mets for years to come. The problem with this was that the Mets already had a solid second baseman by the name of Jeff McNeil, who they didn’t want to part ways with yet. Instead, they delt the two top prospects off to Cleveland.
After being more MLB-ready, Rosario got the bulk of the playing time in 2021 as Cleveland’s starting shortstop. Rosario, who was once the highest-ranked prospect in baseball, was perfectly average with a 100 OPS+ and a .731 OPS.
Similarly to the Mets, Cleveland missed the playoffs at 80-82. Also similarly to Lindor, it was in 2022 when Rosario started to play much better baseball. He sported a 106 OPS+, with 71 RBIs in 153 games, the second-most he’s ever had in a season. Rosario was the starting shortstop for a Cleveland team that reached the ALDS.
In his first year in Cleveland, Giménez wasn’t very good, but maybe it was just for a lack of playing time. He only played in 68 games, posting a 74 OPS+ as a 22-year-old in a new city. 2022 is when Giménez got his feet wet as a starter, and to say he shined is an understatement. The stellar defense was always there for Giménez, but every aspect of his game took a massive leap in 2022.
He won his first gold glove, posting an unreal 16 defensive runs saved. His OPS+ jumped from 74 to 141 in just one season. Giménez finished sixth in AL MVP, started in the All-Star game and had a 7.4 WAR season, supplanting him as one of the best second basemen in the entire sport.
Both Giménez and Rosario helped lead the Guardians to an AL Central title in 2022. The duo was excellent up the middle. Giménez has been off to the right start again in 2023, with 18 hits in just 17 games. Rosario has struggled with the bat out of the gates for Cleveland in 2023, but he has all season to right the ship, as he’ll remain the team’s starting shortstop.
What about the other acquisitions, Wolf and Greene? Well, Wolf still hasn’t panned out as a prospect yet. He struggled in Single-A Lynchburg in 2021 and 2022 as a starting pitcher. Wolf is starting 2023 in High-A ball and looks to continue to climb the ranks. Greene is an outfielder and is also in High-A ball for Cleveland. Those two prospects haven’t panned out yet, but only time will tell.
A Winner Shouldn’t Be Named:
All in all, this trade is just about as even as it gets. Cleveland got two of their more valuable players from this deal. They got their starting shortstop and a stellar second baseman who has exploded at the major league level. New York got their golden goose in Francisco Lindor. In any given season, Lindor could win a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove or even MVP. The Mets’ championship window is now open, thanks in part to this trade and the play of Lindor.
Analysts and fans alike try to look for winners and losers in trades. Sometimes, that determination is clear-cut. In certain trades, the winners and losers are so obvious, an infant can point them out. The first one that comes to mind is when the Rangers traded Sammy Sosa for a bag of chips.
This trade is unlike that. Both sides got incredible value, and we’re witnessing both teams reap the benefits of the deal. At the time, Guardians fans thought this deal would tank their franchise for a long time. Mets fans certainly thought the same after Lindor struggled in 2021. Patience is a virtue, and both sides ended up with exactly what they were looking for.
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