3 Francisco Lindor trade destinations that are a better NY Mets match in the offseason

Francisco Lindor trade speculation won’t completely disappear even when he takes the field on August 4th for the New York Mets. He’s not the kind of player who’d generally get traded mid-season and with the upcoming CBA, we should have further doubts he finishes 2026 with another ball club.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, there is belief that while he won’t get moved at the trade deadline, the offseason is a different animal. The Mets showed no mercy last winter when it came to keeping players around.

Every journalist seems to be in agreement that a Lindor trade is difficult to make happen in the coming days. What about in the offseason? Following what’ll end up as an underachievement, we can expect these three teams as potential Lindor trade destinations.

Three realistic trade destinations for Francisco Lindor this offseason

1) Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays could give the Mets one of the more ironic packages for Lindor. Centered in it is a guy who was traded for Lindor previously, Andres Gimenez. Owed over $23.5 million in each of the next three seasons with a $2.5 million buyout in the fourth year, a swap of Lindor for Gimenez (again) would strategically set the Mets up similarly to when they traded Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. The difference is the Mets do get younger with the trade.

Gimenez’s biggest appeal is his defense which would certainly be welcomed by the Mets. The downside is they’re getting a player who, even at his best, is close to a down year from Lindor. The Mets would probably need some young talent back in this trade to make it worth their time.

2) San Diego Padres

Lindor rumors based around a trade with the San Diego Padres seemed more imaginative last offseason than they do right now. San Diego’s financial hardship with several mammoth contracts made them a match to potentially swap some bad contracts with the Mets. A variety of trades made sense. One that could make sense in the offseason is for Lindor to get traded there for one of their outrageous contracts.

Xander Bogaerts would have to be included for it to make sense for the Padres. Pair him up with Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Mets add in Marcus Semien and we have ourselves a whole new middle infield (Tatis has played a lot of second base this year). This trade scenario is a little too convenient for both ball clubs and the more money involved with more players makes it more bound for someone to get cold feet.

3) San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a unique match for a Lindor trade because they’ve run into a lot of the same problems as the Padres. They have big contracts on the books and haven’t been so successful. A trade for Lindor probably begins with Willy Adames coming to the Mets to play third base.

The contracts are actually way too close of a match for this to not be one of the hottest offseason rumors. Adames makes $31.14 million in each of the next five years. Slightly less than Lindor, he’s younger and someone David Stearns already knows from their time with the Milwaukee Brewers. Adames was a rumored Mets free agent target ahead of the 2025 season as a potential bat to replace Pete Alonso’s production. Often powerful even in years where he doesn’t hit for average, he’d be a more logical choice than Rafael Devers. Although he only has one more year of control, they don’t need that headache waiting to happen.

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