Francisco Lindor Expected to Start 2020 with Indians Amid Dodgers Rumors

The Cleveland Indians are hanging on to All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor.

"I still have every expectation that Francisco will be our shortstop Opening Day," team president Chris Antonetti told reporters on Wednesday. "I'm more confident today in saying that as more of the offseason has passed. But that's still our expectation."

The Indians confirmed Tuesday that Lindor will be at the team's Tribe Fest in Cleveland on Feb. 1. That was seen as a significant announcement because the 26-year-old has been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers in trade rumors throughout the offseason. 

Antonetti's comments further cemented MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi's report from Jan. 2 that talks between the Dodgers and Indians about a Lindor trade have stalled.

Morosi detailed why Lindor may be staying put:

"But as the New Year begins, sources say discussions between the Dodgers and Indians remain in roughly the same place they've been throughout the offseason: The Indians want infielder Gavin Lux to be part of the Lindor trade, and the Dodgers have refused to include him in any offer for Lindor alone.

"The Dodgers' conversations with the Red Sox are said to be more dynamic than the Dodgers-Indians talks, because Boston appears less insistent on Lux. Also, there exists a very real possibility that a Dodgers-Red Sox deal would include multiple players heading to Los Angeles."

Antonetti told reporters, however, that he "never had a different expectation" than for Lindor to stay in Cleveland and start on Opening Day. 

"I can't control the conduct of other teams as far as them calling us with interest and wanting to explore things," Antonetti continued. "We have a responsibility to be responsive to those teams when they engage with us. I can say that we've had conversations on the majority of our major league roster and a bunch of players in our minor league system over the course of the offseason. The majority of those guys, other than just a couple, are still with us."

Lindor was drafted by the Indians eighth overall in 2011. 

Lindor posted a .284/.335/.518 slash line with 32 home runs and 74 RBI across 143 games in 2019 for the 93-69 Indians. Cleveland missed the postseason for the first time since 2015, but it wasn't because of Lindor. He led the team in batting average and earned his second Gold Glove.

Lindor is owed $16.7 million next season before entering arbitration in 2021 and unrestricted free agency in 2022, per Spotrac.

When the club traded Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers in mid-December, however, MLB Network's Jon Heyman speculated that the odds for a Lindor trade "may have diminished" because the money saved from Kluber's contract.

It's still possible that Cleveland moves Lindor prior to the league's July trade deadline, depending on what they could get back for him, but the Indians also have more financial flexibility to commit to Lindor long-term. 

Cleveland will open the 2020 season against the Detroit Tigers on March 26.