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Rumors of a Francisco Lindor call up have been swirling since the dawn of the universe, or so it feels at this point, but it appears the promotion is finally happening. Earlier tonight, following the Indians 5-4 victory over the Tigers, several small reports and tweets began to pop up about Lindor potentially being called up and then around 9:45 p.m. est, someone apparently spilled the beans and several reliable Indians insiders and other sources confirmed the move has happened.
Can confirm that SS Francisco Lindor is slated to be promoted from AAA Columbus to the Indians on Sunday.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 14, 2015
I am able to confirm #Indians top prospect SS Francisco Lindor is for sure being promoted tomorrow from a reliable source within the club.
— Todd Paquette (@IndiansAccounts) June 14, 2015
The @Indians join the prospect promotion train! Top prospect SS Francisco Lindor will join the team in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/baSpbvH5xy
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) June 14, 2015
BREAKING: http://t.co/EOishQ4Itj confirms that #Indians top prospect @Lindor12BC will be promoted from @CLBClippers on Sunday.
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) June 14, 2015
The mysterious Super Two deadline was arguably the biggest thing stopping Lindor from being called up all year long, but according to other recent reports the time has passed, and he was free to join the team without the threat of early arbitration looming over the front office's head. Another issue was just that Lindor didn't look sharp at shortstop throughout the entire year. The team understandably wanted Lindor to be at his best in both aspects of the game, and it appears they have enough confidence in him at this time to finally make the call.
Speaking of which, you may finally be able to put aside those recurring nightmares of Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez botching routine ground balls day in and day out. With Giovanny Urshela and now Lindor joining the team, the left side of the Indians defense could be a dead zone for hitters for years to come, assuming both can live up to their defensive potential.
Lindor will likely handle shortstop duties starting tomorrow, taking over the reins from Mike Aviles who has filled the gap left by Jose Ramirez when he was set down to Triple-A less than a week ago. There is still no word on who is going to be demoted to make room for Lindor, but utility infielder Zach Walters seems like the most obvious choice.