There are still plenty of Cleveland Indians fans upset with the trade of Francisco Lindor.
That is totally fair.
Lindor is a legitimate superstar and it stinks to see the Indians move such talent.
A new report should help bring some light to why the front office saw it best to move him this past offseason.
The asking price is just too high.
As others have reported, the Mets have offered Francisco Lindor a 10-year deal worth $325 million. It is their final offer.
A source says Lindor's camp is still seeking $385 million over 12 years.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 30, 2021
Turning down $325 million sure is a bold move.
An Astronomical Asking Price
The New York Mets, as seen in the above tweet, are offering a sweet deal worth $325 million over 10 years.
Baseball contracts are fully guaranteed as well.
Lindor is still $60 million and two years off of their final offer.
Talking about such major money comes with a disclaimer.
Obviously, those writing about these discussions will never see that type of money, barring a lottery win.
So it is tough to knock players for wanting more.
Maybe they know another team will match their offer in free agency.
However, we are looking at this from an Indians point of view.
Even getting to $300 million would have been a huge shock from the franchise.
Lindor wanting close to $400 million let the front office know there was no point of further talks.
It was time to move on and rightfully so.
With our disclaimer, it is also fair to say that turning down $325 million is insane.
Always Set to Move on
The Indians knew they weren’t going to keep Lindor.
That explains all the shortstop depth in the system.
Acquiring Gabriel Arias in the Mike Clevinger trade last summer with Tyler Freeman already in the system meant the team was already restocking the infield.
Then came the actual trade.
The Indians got both Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, two shortstops, in return.
There is nothing bad about a stockpile of talent at any position.
Final Thoughts
Refreshing Twitter over and over for Lindor extension news pic.twitter.com/1XEJpdnivM
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 30, 2021
Professional sports are a big-money business.
Players receive astronomical amounts of money to play a game and it is all part of the experience.
Fans accept this and enjoy the competition.
But it is hard to relate to someone turning down such a big contract.
Yet once again, it is all part of the business.
Players will want someone like Lindor to get his demand because it builds the market for everyone.
Well, for the stars in the league.
There still has to be some ceiling of how far contracts can go.
At some point teams are just going to say no, especially when a player will finish the deal near the age of 40.
One way to reset this is to extend stars when they are younger.
That is what the San Diego Padres just did with Fernando Tatis Jr. and while there is risk involved, it could pay off in a huge way.
One alternative is the situation the Los Angeles Angels have had with Albert Pujols the past decade.
Lindor is gone and has created a new problem for the Mets.
The Indians still need to shell out some cash, but $385 million to one player was never going to happen.
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