5 trade destinations for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor

2. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies are clearly willing to spend money, with owner John Middleton’s “stupid money” quote from a couple years ago still firmly in mind. They also have two notable free agents in catcher J.T. Realmuto and shortstop Didi Gregorius. It may come down to choosing one of them to pay, with the bullpen a surefire top priority this offseason for the reshaped front office leadership after GM Matt Klentak stepped down. Or maybe they choose neither of them, and move assets in another direction (George Springer? Trevor Bauer? A big trade?).

Philadelphia had their top two prospects, third baseman Alec Bohm and pitcher Spencer Howard, make their big-league debuts this past season. The farm system overall is not regarded highly by outlets that rank farm systems, and looking to 2021, it’s hard to think it’ll be much better. But they do have some top-100 prospects in their pipeline, and in win-now mode, the Phillies will have a hard time turning away from an opportunity to trade for Lindor. A top-notch offer has to be on the radar now. Multiple pieces could be offered to the Indians for the All-Star shortstop, and a deal could look any number of ways.