The Cleveland Guardians’ second half was delayed another day as their series-opening matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday was postponed due to poor air quality. The two squads will play a doubleheader on Saturday and Cleveland will send Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo to the hill in an effort to start the second half of the season on the right foot.
Everyone is eager to get the team back on the field as Cleveland ended the first half on a four-game winning streak and had to watch the Chicago White Sox pummel the Toronto Blue Jays 12-4 on Friday to retake sole possession of the AL Central for the day. With the division so tightly packed, there are whispers of the Guardians potentially making a big move before the trade deadline to bring in some reinforcements, but one insider isn’t a fan of the idea of one big familiar name coming back to town.
During a recent episode of The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima, The Athletic’s Zack Meisel stopped by to discuss the recent rumors of New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor potentially coming back to Cleveland. With the Mets having a difficult season and Lindor having the worst year of his career, there are talks of him potentially being available, but Meisel isn’t a fan of the idea of him reuniting with the Guardians.
“As much as I think you would love to come back to Cleveland, I don’t see any scenario where that makes sense at the moment,” said Meisel.
"As much as I think you would love to come back to Cleveland, I don't see any scenario where that makes sense at the moment…"
➡️ @ZackMeisel w/ @KenCarman and @SportsBoyTony on whether #Guardians could have interest in a return for #Mets SS Francisco Lindor ⚾ pic.twitter.com/FFsVu1VXNe
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 17, 2026
Meisel believes Lindor won’t get traded at all and isn’t a fan of the idea of taking on the remaining five years and over $162 million remaining on his contract past this season. Lindor turns 33 in November and is hitting .210 with a .654 OPS in just 41 games this season.
His defense has declined as well and overall, he would be a significant downgrade from Brayan Rocchio at the moment. The only way where this scenario makes sense for the Guardians would be if it was mostly a salary dump and the Mets took on most of the remaining money owed to Lindor.
He gave the Guardians some incredible memories over the years, but it’s best to leave those in the past. This organization does need more production from its offense, but there is a good thing going right now up the middle with Rocchio and Travis Bazzana. This wouldn’t be the right blockbuster move to help push toward another division title, nor would it be good for the young talent already in place.
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