LA Angels: Francisco Lindor trade poses serious question to Angels fans

Fortunately, the LA Angels aren’t in the same financial position as the Indians, who traded Francisco Lindor Thursday

The baseball world was in an absolute frenzy as word got out that one of the faces of the Cleveland Indians, Francisco Lindor, was being traded to the New York Mets for a relatively light load. The Indians acquired Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene which seems like nothing compared to what Lindor bring to the Mets and what he meant to the Indians franchise.

We’ve seen a move such as this before when Mookie Betts was traded to the Dodgers. While the Red Sox did get Alex Verdugo, there is an underlying truth to both deals, which is financial flexibility due to the fact that they couldn’t pay their top players.

This raises the question, what if the Angels were in that type of predicament? How would the fans react to seeing the man that is credited as the best player in baseball, traded to a team for virtually nothing but future dollar signs?

This question was raised before with Mike Trout as the six-year, $144.5 million extension he signed in 2014 was soon coming to an end and the Angels would have to figure out what to do with him. Luckily for Angels fans, he signed one of the largest contract extensions in the history of sports that would seemingly put him in an Angels uniform for the rest of his career, or through 2030.

If the Angels were to let him go to a team that could actually afford him, it would be devastating not only to the team, but to baseball as a sport, as the Cleveland Indians are already being heavily scrutinized for the trade by media. To basically tell your fans that you aren’t keeping the best talent in the game because of financial issues is downright absurd.

Should the Indians have kept him and tried to extend him, they would be in the same boat as the Angels with the question, “How are you going to get him in the postseason?” The Angels are still figuring out the answer to that question as the off-season rolls on and they still haven’t made an impactful move to upgrade their starting rotation, the main problem they have.

Either way, while the Angels are still struggling to get to the postseason, fans should be grateful that they even have a superstar talent like Trout as he could’ve easily been dealt the same fate as Lindor — and the Angels would never be able to live it down.

For now, the New York Mets are celebrating their biggest haul yet due to the fact that they can afford an extension with Lindor with their new ownership in Steve Cohen. While the Cleveland Indians are being shamed with letting another face of baseball go, the Red Sox being the first, and leaving fans wondering where they go from here?

The Angels have a huge task in getting into the postseason, but they have built pieces around the face of their franchise and he shouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon. Angels fans have at least that to be grateful for and not having to deal with the thought and what could have been.