Los Angeles Dodgers: Imagining a three-team Lindor-Seager trade

Francisco Lindor is one of two elite superstars that the Los Angeles Dodgers are tied to in trade talks and it could mean parting ways with their current shortstop.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have not done anything this winter outside of signing Blake Treinen — which was a great signing — which seems to signal that the team is bound for something massive.

That something massive seems to either be a trade for Francisco Lindor or Mookie Betts, both of which would force some familiar faces out of Los Angeles and shake up the league.

All the reports of Lindor’s pricetag have been high with the Indians reportedly asking for both Gavin Lux and Dustin May, which is far too much for two guaranteed years of Lindor. Some fans have speculated that the Dodgers could try and trade Corey Seager to lessen the prospect load, but the Indians have no reason to do that.

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The point of trading Lindor is to get something out of him before his contract expires after the 2021 season. Seager’s expires at the same time and if the team is not going to extend Lindor then they likely won’t extend Seager.

Personally, I am against the idea of trading Seager for Lindor as Lindor is not that much of an upgrade. However, the case could be made that the Dodgers cannot extend both Lindor and Seager, so if it takes Seager to make a deal happen, perhaps the Dodgers jump on it.

I still do not think the Indians need nor want Seager so the best way to accomplish this would be a three-team trade. The Los Angeles Dodgers could trade Seager elsewhere with that third team sending prospects to the Indians to lighten the Dodgers’ load.

To find a good third team we probably need a team that needs a shortstop has the prospect-base to make a trade and is preferably a team that is on the up and up, not an established team that is already great.

Here is what we came up with.

The Chicago White Sox are the perfect team to loop in on this deal. The White Sox are a team that is looking to contend this season, evident from their Yasmani Grandal and Dallas Keuchel signings, and this could be the trade that propels them to contend for the American League Central crown.

Corey Seager is an established all-star shortstop that is young and could also be part of the White Sox long-term future if they look to extend him. He is a much better fielder than Tim Anderson, who would move to second base and give the White Sox one of the best middle infields in the game.

In return, the White Sox would send Nick Madrigal, who is the 44th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline and probably could be the Indians’ starting shortstop on Opening Day.

They also would send first base prospect Gavin Sheets, who is the 12th-ranked prospect in their system with some promising pop. Sheets is the third first baseman in the White Sox system that also has Jose Abreu, so he is expendable.

This would lighten the load for the Dodgers, who would still have to send several prospects, but would avoid having to send the elite prospects.

The team would package Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray, who were both acquired in the Yasiel Puig trade last winter and both have developed into top-100 prospects. Downs is a future candidate for second base in Cleveland and Gray is a promising pitching prospect.

They would also package their 12th-ranked prospect, outfielder DJ Peters. Peters is an above-average fielding outfielder with some serious pop in his swing, however, with a crowded outfield at the big-league level, it is hard to find a path to the big leagues anytime soon for Peters.

Next. Lindor vs. Betts, the breakdown. dark

I would not even mind adding Joc Pederson into the trade if it means getting Chicago to agree to this trade to keep the Los Angeles Dodgers from sending too much. Pederson is in the last year of his contract and the Dodgers could run a three-man outfield of Cody Bellinger, A.J. Pollock and Alex Verdugo.

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