'They Haven't Offered Me the Right Thing': Francisco Lindor Talks About His Future and a 'Love' of Cleveland

Lindor, acknowledging the balance of wanting to get paid what he's worth but also placing an importance on winning championships, addressed his future this weekend with a handful of reporters at TribeFest in Cleveland.

Francisco Lindor swears he barely listened to trade rumors this winter. In fact, he estimated that only 1 percent of his time was devoted to following the whispers, which is about 99 percent less than most Indians fans. 

But even though he wasn't traded this offseason, there was a reason for the whispers. The question about his future has reached a Thanos level of inevitability.

"I’d love to be here and I’m here," Lindor said at TribeFest. "I’m happy that I’m still here in Cleveland. I’m enjoying the process. I’m enjoying the games. I’m enjoying everything. It’s a blessing to have a job and here I am."

But for how long? The amount of trade discussion tied to Lindor this winter would seem to indicate the marriage probably won't last much beyond the next two years of the Tribe's control of the star shortstop. 

Simply, Lindor is line to get paid. He's one of the top players in the sport and one of the game's top faces. The Indians aren't typically a team that does much paying beyond a star's initial control. The two sides have yet to reach an extension. 

Again, there's a level of inevitability here that isn't going away at any point over the next two years.

Lindor, acknowledging the balance of wanting to get paid what he's worth but also placing an importance on winning championships and a desire to stay in Cleveland, addressed his future this weekend with a handful of reporters at TribeFest. Here was the exchange (note: questions have been edited for clarity).

How do you not get tripped up on thinking about the future?

I don’t have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I can’t control anything. At the end of the day, whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. Like I said, I don’t have any clauses in my contract, so I got no say. I’m going to play as hard as I can and I’m going to enjoy everything.

But you do have control over signing a long-term contract. Why hasn’t that happened yet with the Indians?

Because they haven’t offered me the right thing.

We talked about arbitration and there were other things that were mentioned. But there’s no right time to be doing anything like that.

With free agency looming in two years, is it getting harder to ignore it?

I’m a player that worries about what I got in front of my toes today. I don’t care about free agency. I don’t care about what’s happening next year. I care about what I got today. That’s the only thing I worry about. At the end of the day, free agency will be just another year.

If the Indians offered you “the right thing,” would you sign?

I would love to be in Cleveland. I love Cleveland. This is a home. This is a great city. There are great fans and we've got a good team and a great group of guys. The front office is good. The coaching staff is good. Everybody, the clubbies, everybody that's involved with the Indians' organization, it's great and I love it here. This is where I came up and I'm extremely comfortable here. I am not opposed to anything.

What is the right thing?

What do you think is the right thing? You tell me. What's the number? What's the number where you'd put me? Exactly, if you don't answer, I wont answer. (laughs)

Is the annual value most important? Or are you more concerned with length of the deal?

Is that the key? I don't know. … We want to make sure we get paid for a long time. We want to be in this game for a long time. Do I feel like when I'm 37, am I gonna be down with my playing level? No, I don't think so. The way I work, and the way we all work, I'd don't think we're going to be down. I don't think our production numbers will be down just because we're 37. Yeah, I'm sure (Anthony) Rendon wanted more years. But he got a perfect deal for him and he deserves every penny he gets, if not more. Same thing with Gerrit Cole. All the guys that are getting paid this year, they all deserve that amount of money and they all signed it because they thought it was the right amount of money for them. Is there a right number for me right now? I haven't really thought about it. I'm not there yet. I'm going to worry about what I got in front of my toes. A lot of money sounds pretty right now. Everything sounds pretty. A lot of years sound pretty, too. At the end of the day, it's about what's best or me, my family, and also the Indians' organization. If they don't think I can stay here because of the money situation, then I won't be here. But I do want to be in Cleveland, I love the Indians, I love their fans. The city has grown on me a lot. When is it the right time to sign an extension? I don't know when it's the right time. God has a plan for me and my family and I truly believe in it. What's going to happen is going to happen. Do I want $500 million, of course, anybody wants that. I don't care who you are, you could be a billionaire and you'd still want that. It's just a matter of time, we'll see. Just conversations with my agents, the front office, whenever that does happen, we'll talk about it. Trust me, if I sign a deal, you guys will be the first ones to know. But that's up to you guys to break the news.

When you were hurt last year, did it make you think about your future differently?

No, not at all. I am blessed with health right now. Last year I had an injury, yes, but that didn’t make me question, "Am I going to be back?" It was just a matter of when I was going to be back. It comes down to I trust what I can do. God has a plan for me and my family. I came up with very little money and now I got … some money. I’m in no rush, man. I’m in no rush. I’m too happy to worry about what I got next year or two years from now. That’s not my job to worry about it. That’s why we all have agents. Let him lose his hair. I won’t lose my hair because I need to dye it every single year.

How long has it been since your representatives exchanged framework for a contract with the Indians?

I can’t give you secrets. Have they talked about it? I can’t tell you that either. It’s a process and it’s fun. We’re all enjoying the process. It’s just the right amount hasn’t come up. The ideal money hasn’t come up for either party. Arbitration was great, it was awesome — negotiating and talking with them, that was fun. I enjoyed it. I’m sure the front office enjoyed it as well. That’s where we’re all at. We’re all at arbitration. Nobody is thinking about the future.

When you see the team cutting payroll for two straight years, are you thinking there’s no way they can sign you?

If you had one player to start a franchise, who would it be? If you had five players to start from, you’re not gonna pay them $100 million a year. There’s money out there. There’s money out there.

With the Indians, too?

There’s money. Our payroll last year was (around $120 million). There’s money. Is it what the Indians are trying to do? Who knows? It’s different. But there’s money out there. There are no teams out there with $10 million payrolls. There’s money. This is the industry that there’s money out there. The question is, is it the right time for each team? When are they gonna spend the money? They aren’t all going to sit back and just hold onto the money, but there’s money out there. There are no bankrupt teams. Thank God. That’s good for the industry. That’s good for all of us and it’s good for the owners as well. Is it the right time for the Indians? I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s the right time. Is it the right time for another team to sign, say, Bryce Harper last year — was it the right time for the Yankees to sign Bryce Harper? No. It was the right time for the Yankees to sign Gerrit Cole this year. There’s money, it’s just a matter of, is it my plan right now to sign players?

Are you one of the players you’d start a franchise with?

(Laughs) Of course.

Have fans pleaded with you to stay?

Yeah, the fans are great. I love the fans. Like I said, I want to stay here. Cleveland is a home. Who knows? Whatever God has in my future — it doesn’t matter if I ask for $1 billion. If God doesn’t have that for me, I will not get it. It doesn’t matter. Whatever God has for me, that’s what’s going to happen. The fans have been great. I love the fans. They’re good people.

Is signing that largest contract in MLB history important to you?

No. It’s not about how much money I get. This is not a thing about pride or money. Just like a team would not pay $60 million for a player, no player wants to play at the league minimum for the rest of their career. It’s not about that. I’m not money-driven. I’m championship-driven. That’s what I want. I want to win. Wherever I go, I want to win. I want to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland. This is what I want to do. That’s my mission. I’m here today and I want to win for the Indians. It has nothing to do with the money. It has nothing to do with the years. It has nothing to do with who I like or who I don’t like. It has to do with championships. The front office tries to put a team together to win, not to save money. They’re supposed to try to put a team together to win. I’m here to try to win.

Do the words “hometown discount” apply at all?

Let’s say Rendon got $245 million. You think that’s a discount? (Laughs) Exactly.