Francisco Lindor

[Ohio]

I know it's not at all a reason to give a guy $30 M per, but man do I think keeping Lindor would give a big boost to the fan-team relationship.

That would be a good thing to boost fan support but honestly not having a losing season in the last 7 seasons isnt enough to get out fans then resigning Lindor sadly won't be either

Completely agree. Signing Lindor would be a short term PR boost but zero guarantee of increased attendance.

It's tough to say for sure. We've never been able to retain the superstar and it can be disheartening. Extending Lindor for his career would be something we've literally never seen before. If I had to guess, I think it would have a notable effect in attendance. Think 2017, after nearly winning the World Series and signing Edwin. I think it could even surpass that. I mean damn it would kind of feel like winning a Championship in its own way; the small market Cleveland Indians extending their first superstar ever. That would be a massive win for Cleveland, the Indians, baseball and small markets in general.

Think about it this way: Who wouldn't be even more excited, right now, if the Indians extended Lindor today instead of suspending talks? Everyone would be more excited about the team, this season, the future, etc. Some more so than others, sure, but everyone would be more excited.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Been sitting on this and didn't expand upon it until I felt I was able to.

Cat and mouse game through the media is going to start. Lindor's group knows the Indians will have the money when the TV deal comes, and they know they have leverage on the franchise because of that. Him walking or them trading him most likely tanks their TV ratings heading into the negotiation phase for the new deal (current deal is up after the 2023 season), and as I mentioned in here before the Dolan's are setting up their succession plan for selling the team.

Dolan's want the most lucrative TV deal they can possibly get this go round in order to be as attractive as possible to potential buyers. No more STO means highest bidder will win this time, and it sounds like a very real possibility they are no longer the owners at the turn of the next decade.

Indians are well aware of what their current TV ratings spike looks like and what the ramifications of holding on to that can do for their next TV deal. They are just struggling to find a short term solution currently.

Will be interesting to watch the PR battle play out over the next few months. Both sides want it to happen, both sides know the money will be there, just how they get there is where the disagreements are at.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Been sitting on this and didn't expand upon it until I felt I was able to.

Cat and mouse game through the media is going to start. Lindor's group knows the Indians will have the money when the TV deal comes, and they know they have leverage on the franchise because of that. Him walking or them trading him most likely tanks their TV ratings heading into the negotiation phase for the new deal (current deal is up after the 2023 season), and as I mentioned in here before the Dolan's are setting up their succession plan for selling the team.

Dolan's want the most lucrative TV deal they can possibly get this go round in order to be as attractive as possible to potential buyers. No more STO means highest bidder will win this time, and it sounds like a very real possibility they are no longer the owners at the turn of the next decade.

Indians are well aware of what their current TV ratings spike looks like and what the ramifications of holding on to that can do for their next TV deal. They are just struggling to find a short term solution currently.

Will be interesting to watch the PR battle play out over the next few months. Both sides want it to happen, both sides know the money will be there, just how they get there is where the disagreements are at.

I figured your hints were leading up to Lindor's camp using the TV deal as leverage.

The insight into ownership selling the team is something you've mentioned before, but for some reason it slipped my mind until you brought it up again just now.

Great info. It's always appreciated.

 

[sportscoach]

It's tough to say for sure. We've never been able to retain the superstar and it can be disheartening. Extending Lindor for his career would be something we've literally never seen before. If I had to guess, I think it would have a notable effect in attendance. Think 2017, after nearly winning the World Series and signing Edwin. I think it could even surpass that. I mean damn it would kind of feel like winning a Championship in its own way; the small market Cleveland Indians extending their first superstar ever. That would be a massive win for Cleveland, the Indians, baseball and small markets in general.

Think about it this way: Who wouldn't be even more excited, right now, if the Indians extended Lindor today instead of suspending talks? Everyone would be more excited about the team, this season, the future, etc. Some more so than others, sure, but everyone would be more excited.

Problem is attendance didn't spike much in 17, we still stayed in the 20s (went like 24th to 21st if I remember correctly) but our payroll went to 15th. So my issue is, will resigning Lindor really give us that attendance boost to merit resigning him in that sense. I sincerely dont trust our attendance to ever really go up with completely overhauling the stadium to get a retractable roof of some kind so it makes it more appealing for people in the early months

 

[Ohio]

Problem is attendance didn't spike much in 17, we still stayed in the 20s (went like 24th to 21st if I remember correctly) but our payroll went to 15th. So my issue is, will resigning Lindor really give us that attendance boost to merit resigning him in that sense. I sincerely dont trust our attendance to ever really go up with completely overhauling the stadium to get a retractable roof of some kind so it makes it more appealing for people in the early months

Yeah, I hear you. And I don't have an answer for that, I don't know how much it would increase.

 

[Obscured By Clouds]

Yeah, I hear you. And I don't have an answer for that, I don't know how much it would increase.

It's not just how much, but also how long. After our World Series run, we got a bump in attendance. It lasted one season, then began to slide down to norm.

 

[Derek]

It's tough to say for sure. We've never been able to retain the superstar and it can be disheartening. Extending Lindor for his career would be something we've literally never seen before. If I had to guess, I think it would have a notable effect in attendance. Think 2017, after nearly winning the World Series and signing Edwin. I think it could even surpass that. I mean damn it would kind of feel like winning a Championship in its own way; the small market Cleveland Indians extending their first superstar ever. That would be a massive win for Cleveland, the Indians, baseball and small markets in general.

Think about it this way: Who wouldn't be even more excited, right now, if the Indians extended Lindor today instead of suspending talks? Everyone would be more excited about the team, this season, the future, etc. Some more so than others, sure, but everyone would be more excited.

I thought the attendance spike in 2017 was lackluster as best and I don't think a Lindor signing would do much more than that (it shouldn't).

Regardless, this signing should be made if it's the best move for winning, not because of some fan service. The fans are never going to consistently show up until the stretch runs for a good team, so just focus on continued winning.

 

[Iusetobeover]

I don't see the Indians signing Lindor. Just makes no sense for them. I do see him staying until they are out of contention or he is a free agent.

 

[sportscoach]

I don't see the Indians signing Lindor. Just makes no sense for them. I do see him staying until they are out of contention or he is a free agent.

We dont necessarily need to resign Lindor on paper since we have a ton of guys who could on paper be his replacement, but at the same time it would be smart to keep the clubhouse leader who is one of the better players in his position plus he is a very marketable player. My guess is the Indians just honestly want to keep him for both the on and off the field factors he brings to the table.

 

[Ohio]

It's not just how much, but also how long. After our World Series run, we got a bump in attendance. It lasted one season, then began to slide down to norm.

I thought the attendance spike in 2017 was lackluster as best and I don't think a Lindor signing would do much more than that (it shouldn't).
Regardless, this signing should be made if it's the best move for winning, not because of some fan service. The fans are never going to consistently show up until the stretch runs for a good team, so just focus on continued winning.

Great points...I don’t disagree.

 

[Huber.]

 

[Ohio]

Makes sense. 30 for him and 90 for everyone else.

So, basically the team we have now, just with Lindor making 30 million.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

This may be unpopular, but if we're living in a system where our financial constraints each year are somewhere between 90-130 million, I'm not 100% convinced Frankie is worth 30 million.

Even assuming everything goes right--he stays healthy, doesn't have any issues or major unforeseen slumps, ages well, etc, I think there's an argument to be made that he isn't worth the money.

Then, when you factor in the risks of injury, change in performance, age and the like, the contract could be even harder to swallow.

Yes, he's a top-10 player in baseball, but how many good-to-star level players are you going to not be able to extend early in their careers (which is where the Indians have thrived for a long time now, and is where we find the value to contend) because of Lindor's contract? Imagine not extending 2-3 of the next generation of player. Imagine where we would have been this generation if we didn't extend Jose and Kluber (plus more).

 

[Derek]

This may be unpopular, but if we're living in a system where our financial constraints each year are somewhere between 90-130 million, I'm not 100% convinced Frankie is worth 30 million.

Even assuming everything goes right--he stays healthy, doesn't have any issues or major unforeseen slumps, ages well, etc, I think there's an argument to be made that he isn't worth the money.

Then, when you factor in the risks of injury, change in performance, age and the like, the contract could be even harder to swallow.

Yes, he's a top-10 player in baseball, but how many good-to-star level players are you going to not be able to extend early in their careers (which is where the Indians have thrived for a long time now, and is where we find the value to contend) because of Lindor's contract? Imagine not extending 2-3 of the next generation of player. Imagine where we would have been this generation if we didn't extend Jose and Kluber (plus more).

I'm for signing Lindor to the money as long as we still extend our young guys when the opportunity presents.

That's the model that's kept us successful.

Now, it's possible this next run of guys will opt to hit FA as early as possible without signing extensions, but I at least want to have the ability to make those offers.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I'm for signing Lindor to the money as long as we still extend our young guys when the opportunity presents.

That's the model that's kept us successful.

Now, it's possible this next run of guys will opt to hit FA as early as possible without signing extensions, but I at least want to have the ability to make those offers.

I think where I fall today is "I want to re-sign Lindor, but if we don't, I can see a path where that decision could work out to our benefit. It's not the end of the world that some fans will make it out to be"