Antonetti: Indians Made 'Sincere' Effort to Extend Francisco Lindor's Contract

Cleveland Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti on Wednesday told reporters, including The Athletic's Jason Lloyd, that the club put forth a "sincere and earnest effort" over the last few months to secure four-time All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor on a long-term contract extension.

"I think we had a series of great exchanges and tried different creative concepts to make things work but ultimately weren't able to align at this point," Antonetti continued. "We talked with Francisco and [agent] David [Meter] about just focusing on the season at this point and then revisiting things down the road."

Lindor did not disclose what the Indians offered him but did tell Lloyd for a story published Monday: "My agent knows my value. I know my value. But that's something that's a little more private. But I do know what's fair for both sides. I'm very aware. I've studied it."

Lindor is owed $17.5 million in 2020 with an arbitration year in 2021 before he's scheduled to hit free agency in 2022, per Spotrac.

There have been rumblings this offseason that Lindor would be traded, and ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the following Dec. 3:

"Lindor, multiple executives said, 'is going to get traded.' They're not sure if it's this winter or next summer, but considering how disciplined the Indians are, they want to maximize Lindor's value, and doing so means trading him before the July 31 deadline. Maybe if Cleveland is excellent, it's a different story, but executives who covet Lindor believe it's the logical outcome, because the Indians don't want to find themselves in a similar situation as Boston, with [Mookie] Betts' value diminished because he's so close to free agency."

Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had been linked to Lindor in trade rumors.

Lindor told Lloyd he wants to stay in Cleveland: "I'm not a person that holds grudges. I don't forget things, but I don't hold grudges. ... It didn't seem like it was [close] from my point of view. It's the reality we live in. I'm not mad. I continue to express how much I love it here, how much I want to be here. So let's focus on winning. Let's focus on the season."

Lindor will be crucial for Cleveland to return to the World Series after it lost to the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and missed the playoffs last year after two straight exits in the American League Division Series.

In 2019, Lindor posted a .284/.335/.518 slash line with 32 home runs and 74 RBI across 654 plate appearances in 143 games. The two-time Silver Slugger earned his second Gold Glove after starting 137 games at shortstop.