One of the more eye-catching trade ideas floating around deadline season would send Francisco Lindor back where it all started.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer included a Cleveland-Mets swap in a list of eight wild proposals, and the framework is a big one: the Guardians would land Lindor plus $80 million in cash relief, while the Mets would get Brayan Rocchio and MLB’s No. 34 overall prospect, Angel Genao. It’s the kind of deal that sounds outrageous at first glance, but it does connect the dots back to Lindor’s roots. He was drafted eighth overall out of Montverde Academy in 2011, spent his first six seasons in Cleveland, and turned into a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner before New York acquired him ahead of the 2021 season.
Here is Rymer’s trade proposal.
Cleveland Guardians Get: SS Francisco Lindor ($185.8M), $80M cash
New York Mets Get: SS Brayan Rocchio, SS Angel Genao (MLB No. 34)
Rymer’s case for Cleveland centered on the idea that Rocchio can hold down shortstop over a 162-game season, but a team chasing a championship needs more than that at the position. He also argued that if the Mets covered roughly half of Lindor’s remaining money, the risk would fit much better with Cleveland’s tight spending habits.
Losing Genao would sting, Rymer wrote, but the payoff could be worth it if Lindor helped push the Guardians to a Fall Classic berth. He also pointed to the American League being as open as ever.
Lindor’s current production is part of what makes the whole thing so hard to picture. Through 100 games this season, he is batting .233 with six home runs, and he is still owed $185.8 million through 2031. On top of that, he has a full no-trade clause, which makes any move of this size extremely unlikely before the Aug. 3 deadline.
Rymer noted that the Mets would have to take on more than just payroll relief from Cleveland, and he cited New York eating a sizable portion of Justin Verlander’s contract in a 2023 trade as the closest recent example of a team accepting that kind of financial burden.
From Cleveland’s side, the price would be steep. Rocchio has been productive, and Genao is a premium prospect, so parting with both for Lindor would be a major commitment even for a player with his track record. The Guardians’ cautious approach to spending only makes that path look even less likely, no matter how much cash New York might include.
For now, the idea sits firmly in the realm of speculation. Still, Lindor’s name keeps coming back whenever Cleveland is discussed, and this version of the reunion is one fans will keep circling as the deadline gets closer.
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