The son of Cleveland's GM might have spilled the beans about a Francisco Lindor deal
Look, much as we love Spring Training, there's a lot of time to fill. The fun of watching those prospects you've heard so much about and the sheer joy of seeing real, actual baseball again can only carry you so far, and after that, there's still a game to finish.
So, in the ninth inning of the Indians' loss to the White Sox on Saturday, Cleveland's radio team decided to welcome a special guest to the booth: Brody Chernoff, 6-year-old son of Indians GM Mike Chernoff. Things were going great at first, until (with a little prodding from play-by-play man Tom Hamilton) Brody forgot the cardinal rule of being a general manager's son -- don't talk about dad's phone calls.
"Just between us, and all the people listening," Hamilton asked Brody, "Dad had any phone calls lately? Who's he trying to get? Because he won't tell us. Can you?"
Replied Brody, ever so innocently, "He's trying to get Lindor to play for seven more years." This information sent Hamilton and the Indians' radio booth into uproarious laughter.
"There you have it, folks, we've finally had a scoop on the Indians radio network!"
Before the big reveal, Brody and Hamilton chatted about whether he'd consider announcing when he gets older (he'd rather play, he says), whether Brody had fun with the Indians in the World Series (he did), the fact that he has a baby sister on the way and other small talk.
Listen to Brody's full visit to the booth here, with the choice excerpt available by pushing the play button in the main video above.
I mean, really, can you blame GM Chernoff for thinking about a long-term future with the shortstop?
Lindor was named an All-Star and took home both Gold Glove and Platinum Gloves Awards in his first full season in the big leagues last year. Oh, and all the Indians did was win their division and reach the World Series. Lindor does charity work for R.B.I. and even has his own initiative for certain home games. Naturally, it's called the Lindor Smile Squad. This spring, Lindor showed off his bat flipping talents during Puerto Rico's run to the title game in the World Baseball Classic.
The young man does it all. It wouldn't be far-fetched if Lindor is also one of Chernoff's little man's favorite players. Plenty of kids around Cleveland are sporting Lindor jerseys these days.
As for that seven-year extension with Lindor that Brody says might be on the way, the deal would cover Lindor's last two pre-arbitration years, all three of his arb seasons and then two years of free agency. Is that kind of deal imminent? There have been no such rumblings -- other than Brody's radio interview -- but a similar deal is in the works for another player.
The Indians are almost set to announce a five-year, $26-million contract extension for infielder Jose Ramirez. His deal, which is not official yet, includes a pair of team options. The Indians are known for their skills in analytics, but it doesn't take a data scientist to figure out that five plus two equals seven.
There is a strong chance that Brody heard his dad talking about a seven-year contract in recent days. Was thinking it was Lindor's agent on the other line wishful thinking, or did Brody really tip his father's hand? Brody was not available for comment to confirm one way or the other.
