A Look at Next Year

Next year, Indians fans will probably watch an opening day without their star shortstop, Francisco Lindor, fan favorite Carlos "Los" Santana, and a good lefty reliever Brad Hand. I think they’ll hold on to Carlos "Cookie" Carrasco, because I think this Front Office (FO) is actually loyal to its players (they often send players they trade to their original home, such as Kluber, Greg Allen, and more).

Losing Santana and Lindor hurts us all. The prospect of relying on unproven prospects is worrying. The one comfort we have is that the pitching staff will most likely be very reliable and keep us in most games. Here’s to hoping we don’t Mets our pitching staff like they did deGrom in 2018/19. If lower payroll is a necessity, this starting staff is about as good an outcome as a fan can hope for. Because they have been so good, this piece will skip them for now.

The big question will be the position players. A completely different infield and the always suspect Cleveland outfield will be the major issues. First, we can rely on Jose Ramirez, Tyler Naquin, and Franmil Reyes. Delino DeShields can feel relief on for near average production. Oscar Mercado could be slightly above average. Zimmer is still a question mark but is very near the term "bust." I still hope he can figure it out. Luplow is still there. And Josh Naylor should hit (should). Franmil could man left field or right field as well, opening up DH, which is a much cheaper FA option these days for a 1 year deal. The unfortunate reality is that this group will probably have below average production offensively. There is potential, but all we have is results so far and those results don’t project major success.

As for the infield, Chang is the only ready internal shortstop option. Second base could be Owen Miller or Tyler Freeman. First base could be Bobby Bradley, Jake Bauers, or Josh Naylor. Nolan Jones is waiting in the wings as well, but he’s only see third base. If he moves up, Jose goes to second base. If more than one outfielder finds success or if Franmil can play outfield defense, Josh Naylor could man first base. Either way, we will be looking at a lot of variability and possibility. But based on youth and inexperience, we can probably expect below average production there too.

Catcher will be Perez if he’s healthy, and Hedges if he’s not. If Hedges, expect an even more enveloping black hole of offensive production from the 8- hole in the lineup.

So if the FO is trading Lindor, what kind of return should they target? What team would have that return? What would that return be?

My answer to these questions are as follows:

1. Near majors outfield prospects, prioritize hit tool.
2. a.) Angels? b.) Braves? c.) Twins? b.) Yankees? Mystery team?
3. I think the Angels make the most sense. Ask for Marsh and Jordyn Adams. The Angels make sense because they would have nurseries row with Lindor, Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, and Adell. Maybe they could throw in Plutko or one of our many young depth pitchers, though I wouldn’t really want to part with Moss, Allen, or Rodriguez. But I think Marsh and Adams would be very nice for 2021, and the future of this franchise.

Or they could sign Lindor and I’d be happy