Once upon a time, Francisco Lindor was the star player of the Cleveland Guardians. A focal point of a World Series contender and the guy that fans hoped would be here for years to come. Instead, Lindor got traded to the New York Mets, and Jose Ramirez became the guy fans latched onto. One of which would become a potential Hall of Famer, the other would fail to live up to his lofty expectations.

Lindor signed a $341 million contract with the Mets that would last for 10 years. It was a contract that looked bad when Lindor was 27 and looks even worse now that he’s 32. While he’s found some success at the plate, mostly with his home run swing, he’s declined across the board as an offensive player and is a shell of what he once was defensively. Despite being a solid player, it’s fair to say he isn’t living up to his contract. 

With five years left on a bad deal and clearly a player in decline, why would anyone want to trade for Lindor? Shockingly, there are some who are pushing for the Guardians to try to trade for him. It’s unlikely to happen, but many believe the Mets are likely to deal Lindor eventually. Though it’s less likely it happens before the July 31 trade deadline and more likely to be in the 2027 offseason.

Regardless of who trades for Lindor, it would be a terrible move for any franchise. Even worse, however, for the Guardians. Firstly, his contract would suffocate the Guardians’ notoriously tight payroll. Even if the Mets agreed to eat some of his contract, that’s still a number that’s too big for the Guards to deal with successfully. His deal is likely among the reasons why the owners are demanding a salary cap. Too many players are signing bloated contracts that have little return for the investment offered.

Lindor would fall into that conversation. Take out his home runs, and Lindor has seriously regressed as a player from where he was with the Guardians. 

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The second reason the Guardians should avoid a deal with the Mets is that they already have a rising prospect at shortstop in Brayan Rocchio. The 25-year-old is having a breakout year for the Guards, where he’s out-producing Lindor in every meaningful statistic through July 20. It wouldn’t make much sense to get Lindor when Rocchio has done more than enough to warrant being this team’s long-term option at shortstop. 

Not to mention the six-odd years age gap between the two men. 

Lastly, Lindor doesn’t make the Guardians better offensively or defensively. He’s currently coming back from a few injuries, and if he can bounce back from his latest round of injuries, sure, his power can be a huge asset for the Guardians. That’s assuming that his calf injuries and hand surgery won’t prevent him from swinging the lumber with the same kind of power. To get Lindor, though, someone will have to sit down. Now, if he’s willing to play in the outfield or at first base, we can have some sort of a conversation, but if, and only if, the price is right. 

It seems like a moot point, however, as Lindor will simply cost too much, especially for an aging player with a history of sporadic production against a massive contract. The Guardians would be wise to look elsewhere for help offensively rather than to give up the exorbitant cost it would take to bring Lindro back to Cleveland.  

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