Cleveland Indians: Clarifying Francisco Lindor’s contract situation

Some Cleveland Indians fans may have been worried about Francisco Lindor turning down a deal this offseason, but he isn’t leaving Cleveland anytime soon.

Cleveland Indians fans may have been alarmed earlier this week to see that Francisco Lindor reportedly turned down a lucrative extension this offseason.

Some fans may have chalked this up to him not wanting to remain in Cleveland long-term, but that is hardly the case.

For those who are unaware, Lindor is under team control through the 2021 season, making 2022 the first year he can become a free agent.

He has one more pre-arbitration year before three straight years of arbitration with the club, meaning the Indians and Lindor can keep agreeing to one-year deals through 2021. But doing this can get expensive, and it would also increase the chances the young shortstop hits the open market in 2022.

So the ideal move is to sign Lindor to an extension, but the reported $100 million offered to him may not have met his market value.

Spotrac.com has Lindor’s market value listed at eight-years, $148,497,594 for an annual salary of $18.5 million. And that number is as of right now, at a time when Lindor has only played just over a single season of baseball with the Indians.

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Lindor is currently making $579,300 this year and will receive a similar figure next year. The Indians likely wanted to pitch Lindor an offer to increase his annual salary, hopefully catching him ready to earn more now instead of securing an even larger deal in a year or two from now.

He didn’t bite, and that means the next offer will need to be closer to his market value.

The good news is that time is on the Indians’ side, as they have four years to make a deal with the star shortstop. However, it must be done sooner than later as his value is going to continue to rise after each season.

There is also the risk that a few teams make major offers to similar players, causing Lindor’s value to rise even higher.

So expect the team to come up with another offer this offseason, and another in 2019 if Lindor continues to make less now to increase his future earnings. Fans should not blame him for doing this, as it is a smart move on his part.

Next: Lindor smart to turn down contract offer

It is up to the Indians to manage the budget to keep him in town. That may mean letting go of some key players in a year or two, but it is a necessary evil to keep one of the greatest young players in the game.