Some time has passed and Cleveland Indians fans should now be able to actually accept the fact both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco are now members of the New York Mets.
It is perfectly alright if you need more time to process that information.
The trade was made and the Indians got four players in return.
Two are very young prospects and two should be in the Opening Day lineup, barring any unforeseen major additions.
So how should we grade the blockbuster trade?
The trade has been finalized, by the way.
To NYM: SS Francisco Lindor, SP Carlos Carrasco
To CLE: IF Amed Rosario, IF Andres Gimenez, SP Josh Wolf, OF Isaiah Greene
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) January 7, 2021
A Tough Grade to Give
Both Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene are years away from ever being considered for a call-up.
Wolf is now the team’s No. 12 prospect according to MLB.com, and Greene slots in at No. 16.
You truly hope for the best when acquiring players who are still not old enough to buy a legal drink.
The right-handed Wolf is a former second-round pick by the Mets and has limited stats after the 2020 minor league season was cancelled.
Greene was actually a 2020 draft pick by the Mets, so the teenager will be getting his first taste of professional baseball in the Indians organization.
The trade gets even more interesting when realizing Andres Gimenez was the prized player.
He overtook Amed Rosario at shortstop last year and now both players are joining the Indians.
Given Cesar Hernandez’s departure, it is likely Gimenez and Rosario will be the new double-play duo in 2021.
Gimenez is a former top prospect in the Mets system and appeared in 49 MLB games last season, posting a 1.1 WAR.
Andrés Giménez comes up clutch and gives the #Mets the lead in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/Hdirm59hUA
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 17, 2020
He is only 22 years old and it appears the Indians front office sees him as the future at shortstop.
Rosario was also a former top prospect for New York.
But so far he has not lived up to the hype.
The infielder posted a 0.0 WAR last season and lost his job to Gimenez.
Neither of the two hit for much power and fans are rightfully going to be upset at first when comparing both to Lindor.
A Grade on Potential
The Indians front office does have a good track record of acquiring talent in deals where stars are traded away.
But fans still want to win now and Gimenez is the centerpiece of this deal for the Indians.
He is still only 22 years old, but has not shown enough at the plate for fans to be thrilled about him in 2021.
This trade is all about the potential of Gimenez, Wolf, and Greene moving forward.
Anything in the positive WAR territory for Rosario will be a bonus and he could even end up being a trade piece before he hits free agency following the 2023 season.
So let’s grade this with a bit of optimism because of the organization’s track record.
We can settle upon a B-, mainly because the Indians didn’t get a dynamic proven player in return.
This is a deal where we may all look back in a few years and be thrilled the team got foundational pieces.
However, that process still involves seeing Lindor’s star rise even higher in New York.
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