Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan offered some advice to fans that comes off as rather ominous long-term.
Dolan said Tribe fans should “enjoy” shortstop Francisco Lindor now before he becomes a free agent after the 2021 season amid fears that Cleveland won’t be able to afford him.
“Enjoy him,” Dolan said, via Zack Meisel of The Athletic. “We control him for three more years. Enjoy him and then we’ll see what happens.”
Dolan added that it is “painful” when budgetary reasons prevent the team from keeping hold of one of its own players, though he wasn’t necessarily speaking about Lindor.
Cleveland faces budget restraints, and a short playoff run in 2018 has not helped matters. That’s why they considered dealing some of their high-end starters. That doesn’t really bode well for their hopes of retaining Lindor, who figures to demand a payday in the bracket of Manny Machado and players of that caliber. Perhaps something will change within the next three years.
