Lindor, Carrasco join Mets in blockbuster trade with Indians
The New York Mets have continued their aggressive offseason by trading for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco with four going to the Indians.
Francisco Lindor's time in Cleveland has come to an end, as the Indians moved the four-time All-Star to the New York Mets in a blockbuster six-player trade announced on Thursday.
The Mets will also receive starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco in the deal, with Cleveland getting infielders Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez and a pair of prospects in pitcher Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene.
Lindor has been one of the game's premier shortstops, and the face of the Cleveland franchise, since breaking into the majors in 2015. The 27-year-old was the runner-up in voting for the American League's Rookie of the Year in 2015 and has won two Silver Slugger awards as well as a pair of Gold Gloves during his six-year career.
The Puerto Rico native is set to be a free agent after this season, however, and an inability to agree to terms on a contract extension forced Cleveland to field offers from interested teams.
Lindor joins a Mets organisation with grand designs under new owner Steve Cohen and who have been one of the more aggressive teams this offseason. New York previously added catcher James McCann and reliever Trevor May in free agency, while pitcher Marcus Stroman accepted an $18.9million qualifying offer to return.
A career .285 hitter, Lindor has averaged 29 home runs, 86 RBIs and 21 steals over his six major league seasons.
Mets trade for Carrasco
The Mets also add a valuable piece to the rotation in Carrasco, who went 88-73 with a 3.77 ERA in 11 seasons with Cleveland. The 33-year-old right-hander won 35 games between the 2017 and 2018 seasons before missing most of the 2019 campaign when diagnosed with leukaemia.
Carrasco successfully fought off the disease to make 12 regular-season starts in 2020, going 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA and winning a second straight AL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Rosario is the most experienced of the players Cleveland got in return and figures to slot in as Lindor's replacement at shortstop. The 25-year-old's last full season in the majors was a solid one as he batted .287 with 15 homers, 72 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.
Gimenez, 22, made his major league debut last season and hit .263 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 49 games.
Wolf and Greene were ranked as the Mets' number nine and number 10 overall prospects by MLB.com. Wolf was a second-round pick by New York in 2019, while Greene was taken in the second round of the 2020 draft and has yet to make his professional debut.