Francisco Lindor reportedly hitting trade block poses difficult question for Yankees fans

Francisco Lindor is on the trade block, and now things are getting tough for the Yankees.

According to the latest reports — well, Bob Nightengale reports — the Cleveland Indians intend to trade Francisco Lindor this offseason, which is the first hard indication of that despite endless speculation since last offseason.

That’s going to create a frenzy of sorts. For one, Lindor is among the best players in the game. He arguably the best at his position both offensively and defensively and is still only 26 years old. However, the complicated offseason that is expected to be extremely slow due to COVID-19 might not pave the way for a trade as fast as many expect.

That could help the New York Yankees in a sense as the market further develops, because now the team is faced with a difficult decision after being linked to the All-Star for quite some time now. We’ve talked about how this is highly unlikely, but what if a big infield shakeup is in the cards for the Bombers?

We don’t want to talk about this or think about this. We really don’t. But what if the front office decides that DJ LeMahieu is too expensive for their liking coupled with the fact that they’re not entirely comfortable with Gleyber Torres at shortstop moving forward?

Could this really pave the way for the Yankees to let LeMahieu walk in free agency followed by a trade/contract extension for Lindor? After all, New York would receive a favorable draft pick for DJLM if he signs elsewhere, so the Yankees would essentially gain a top selection after trading some top prospects and pay similar money on an annual basis for Lindor as they would be for LeMahieu (though Lindor’s deal would be for much longer).

For many, it’s too early to pull the plug on Torres at shortstop. The kid’s only 23 years old, and while he’s looked better at second base, he’s only played 138 games at short. That’s not even a full season of work. Plus, letting LeMahieu go would be too much of a loss for the offense, which is in dire need of an aggressive, contact-heavy bat that can also hit for power, which is exactly what DJ provides. That’s why he’s The Machine.

But looking at the flip side, the Yankees can just avoid the Torres-shortstop thing altogether with a Lindor trade and set up their middle infield for the better part of the next decade. They have a stacked farm system and can certainly afford to move some prospects because a lot of them are blocked by the talent currently on the major league roster. This would allow them to avoid a potential future headache with Torres in case his defensive issues persist and provide them with a surefire shortstop of the future instead of an aging LeMahieu taking over at second for the next 3-5 years.

Some feel this is too big of a shakeup. Some feel some sort of a shakeup needs to be made after the failures of the last two years. Perhaps the Yankees need something more in the middle. But this speculation won’t go away until Lindor is officially dealt and signs an extension with another team.

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