5 trade destinations for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor

1. New York Mets

New Mets’ owner Steve Cohen is sure to want to make a big splash or two this offseason, and the team could pursue an upgrade at shortstop with Andres Gimenez seeming to push Amed Rosario out of the way in 2020.

Lindor’s looming free agency may turn away some teams without a plan to pony up on a new deal for him. But Cohen will surely have no such inhibitions about paying Lindor a good bit more than $20 million per year over a long deal as he earns the faith of Mets fans post-Wilpons. It appears he’s already changing the operation behind the scenes, and that will surely extend to the talent on the field as quickly as possible. The Mets have a glut of corner outfield/DH types with team control for a few more years — Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo — and even Jeff McNeil could be a trade chip this offseason.

The Mets will of course have ample competition on the trade market for Lindor. A rising farm system seems ready to provide tradeable assets though, from No. 1 prospect shortstop Ronny Mauricio down to some pitching prospects who could interest the Indians in a deal for Lindor (or others teams in possible deals for other big-name players).