Yankees: Indians’ Brad Hand foolishness could make Lindor trade too cheap to pass up

If Brad Hand is this much of a bargain, maybe the Yankees SHOULD actually talk to the Indians about Francisco Lindor. What a country!

For almost a year (or longer?), we’ve been on the side of the fence that claims a Francisco Lindor-Yankees trade would be an unnecessary embarrassment of riches.

Sure, you love to have good players on your baseball team. Even an overload of such players would be nice! Those things tend to work themselves out over the course of a long season; recall DJ LeMahieu’s epic battle with Troy Tulowitzki.

But someone like Lindor felt like too much of a luxury, and one who would genuinely tip the scales and jam up the roster, forcing an overqualified Gio Urshela to the bench, and possibly DJ LeMahieu out of town.

On Thursday, though, we got a bit of assurance and confirmation that the 2020-21 offseason really is going to be as bleak as many theorized, and teams like the Indians will be looking to cut bait with as much talent as possible, jettisoning Brad Hand for pennies on the dollar in the coming days.

So if Lindor is a cheap enough acquisition that he’d barely break the prospect bank for one year, it’s possible this roster explosion is trending towards … being worth it?

Most estimates claim the Yankees will be major players in free agency again in 2021-22 after a muted season, which lines up with a fair assumption. After all, they do want to win, and this window won’t be open forever. They’re also just falling in line with the global pandemic-related tightening of the purse strings, and even a year of semi-normalcy will get a team with a massive valuation out of the red.

Next year’s free agency cycle includes Lindor, Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Carlos Correa at short, among other power players at different positions of need (Nolan Arenado? Noah Syndergaard?). But if Lindor becomes available a year ahead of schedule and fills an area of need, and he only costs a lower tier of prospects than what it took to get Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx, then perhaps the Yankees will be enticed yet again.

Plus, they might want to stop the cross-town Mets from getting enticed by Lindor, too.

This offseason promises a lot of gross business from various ownership groups, as well as a lot of names dangled in talks who probably shouldn’t be going anywhere.

We maintain that Lindor is not the missing piece to vault the Yankees ahead of the Dodgers and Rays. But if he’s lingering at a way lower cost than anticipated, how do you not make the move?

Blake Snell’s reaction to Kevin Cash’s decision that blew the World Series is perfect

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled Blake Snell early and pretty much blew the World Series. New York Yankees fans will love it.