As Mookie Betts sits in the trade market, Red Sox Nation and fans of the teams that could make a deal for the former Most Valuable Player will be attuned to every rumor, every scrap of news, real or fake. But the Cleveland Indians' front office will be just as interested as Sam from Southie, the one who lives in the David Ortiz jersey.
Boston's machinations in discussing Betts are bound to inform Cleveland's forthcoming quandary about when to trade another MVP-caliber player, Francisco Lindor. It's not a matter of if the Indians trade Lindor, because logic dictates that yes, they will deal him inevitably. The only real question is when the Indians should do this, with four possible windows.