Francisco Lindor Doesn’t Make the Indians’ Cut

Jun 18, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; Carolina Mudcats shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) during the first inning of the California League vs Carolina League All Star Game at San Jose Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor Reassigned to Minor League Camp

The Cleveland Indians made their first round of spring training cuts on Wednesday and, to the surprise of no one, Francisco Lindor was on the short list of players reassigned for the remainder of the spring.

Along with Lindor, a handful of other players were either reassigned to the Indians’ minor league camp or assigned to various levels of the organization. Among those headed to minor league camp along with Lindor are Tony Wolters, Tyler Naquin, Jake Lowery, Roberto Perez, and Joe Wendle.

In addition to those six players, five others were sent to Columbus while one additional was sent to Single-A Carolina. The five players headed to Columbus to take part in the Triple-A season include Jesus Aguilar, Jose Ramirez, Austin Adams, T.J. House, and Carlos Moncrief. Meanwhile, Erik Gonzalez was the lone player sent to Carolina.

As for Francisco Lindor, this cut is not a surprise. While the possibility of Lindor making the dream was the ideal scenario for many fans, it was never going to be a reality. With the Indians set to pay incumbent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera $10-million in 2014, they could not afford to put Lindor on the opening day roster. Simply put, $10-million is simply too much to be paying for a bench player and they cannot afford to prematurely start Lindor’s service clock.

From that standpoint, the decision to send Lindor back to the minors for another season was a no-brainer. It also means that we stand little to no chance of seeing Lindor in Cleveland at all this season. Asdrubal Cabrera is likely to play out the season as the Indians everyday shortstop before testing the free agent waters upon its completion. The other scenario would be for Cabrera to be traded prior to the trade deadline with one of several other options closing out the season at short, i.e. Mike Aviles, Justin Sellers, Jose Ramirez.

So in summary, expect Francisco Lindor to spend the majority of his 2014 season in the depths of the Indians minor league system. As things currently stand, it would seem likely that he begins the year at Double-A Akron before making the move to Columbus sometime before the season’s midway point. There is no reason to rush his progression, not with a number of other viable options currently on the roster. When it’s time to call up Francisco Lindor, the Indians will be sure they are calling him up for good.