Indians: 3 players we can’t afford to lose
1. Francisco Lindor
This is the obvious one. Francisco Lindor’s future has been a dark cloud over the franchise and it is now time for the team to make a decision. He has one year of team control remaining and all logic points toward him being traded.
It is fair to expect him to be gone and still say the Indians can’t afford to lose him. He is not a replaceable player and the hope will be that a top prospect can slide in and have a similar rise as Lindor. That is hardly a given and fans will cringe seeing Lindor in an opposing uniform.
A Lindor trade, while expected, would be the true sign of major change in 2021. He has been the face of the franchise and this would be on the level of when the team lost Jim Thome in free agency two decades ago.
The only way Lindor stays is if ownership totally changes its philosophy and decides to give him a mega-deal. Indians fans know that is not happening and change is coming. They can’t afford to lose him and may do so voluntarily, claiming he is too expensive.
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That reason won’t make fans feel any better and some may still be holding out hope he at least begins the year with the team if ownership wants to make one more postseason run. Still, that would come on a small budget and a trade would be impending from the first pitch on Opening Day.