On the heels of a 22-10 run over their past 32 contests, the Royals are in the market for upgrades in both their rotation and the bullpen, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
“We’re evaluating the landscape, and paying close attention to what may be available in the pitching market,” GM Dayton Moore tells Heyman. “…We’re looking to improve our roster and make it more balanced for the second half. … I don’t know why anyone thought we’d be sellers.” Those comments largely back up recent statements made by manager Ned Yost on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and to reporters following last night’s game (link via the Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd).
Heyman goes on to add that the Royals aren’t likely to have too much payroll flexibility due to the fact that they entered the season with a franchise-record $145MM payroll. However, there’s a belief that Kansas City is open to adding a veteran starter on an expiring contract, according to Heyman. A look at MLBTR’s list of 2017-18 free agents shows starters that fit the bill, though obviously not all of those arms are available in trades, and some may not fit into an apparently tight Royals budget.
The following names are purely my own speculation, but if the Royals are aiming to add affordable rotation rentals, any of this bunch could make some sense (listed from lowest salary to highest salary):
- Trevor Cahill: Cahill was only just activated off the disabled list after missing seven weeks due to a strained right shoulder. While he doesn’t come with much in the way of name value these days, Cahill has broken out in his return to a big league rotation, throwing 45 2/3 innings with 10.8 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 62.3 percent ground-ball rate. That’s led to a 2.96 ERA that is backed by a 2.98 FIP, 3.25 xFIP and 3.51 SIERA. He’s earning just $1.75MM in 2017, so from a financial standpoint, he’s an ideal fit.
- Jhoulys Chacin: Teammates with Cahill, Chacin is also earning $1.75MM this year. He’s been the more durable of the two, and although he posted terrible numbers early in the year, he’s logged a 2.98 ERA with a 39-to-15 K/BB ratio and a 50.4 percent grounder rate over his past 42 1/3 innings. He’s hardly an impact upgrade, but right now it doesn’t look like there’ll be an impact rental available at all.
- Scott Feldman: The 34-year-old has been the Reds’ best starter this season, turning in 102 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA ball. Feldman’s 7.5 K/9 mark is the best of his career, and he’s averaging a reasonable 2.9 walks per nine innings with a 45 percent ground-ball rate. Despite playing his home games at Great American Ball Park, he’s managed to limit home runs (1.1 HR/9). Feldman has a cheap $2.3MM base salary, though he’s already added $1.3MM worth of incentives and will tack on another $300K after his 20th start. Since this is all speculative anyhow, the Reds have a number of shorter-term bullpen pieces that could move (e.g. Drew Storen, Blake Wood) plus a shortstop that would be a significant upgrade for the Royals’ infield.
- Alex Cobb: It’s worth debating whether Cobb will even be available because of the fact that the Rays are contending, but Tampa Bay will almost certainly lose him for nothing this offseason as a free agent rather than make him a qualifying offer that could top $18MM. Cobb carries a 4.01 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent grounder rate in 107 2/3 innings. He hasn’t been the borderline ace that he was prior to Tommy John surgery, but he’s earning an affordable $4.2MM. From the Rays’ vantage point, they’ll get Matt Andriese back in August while Jose De Leon and Blake Snell wait in the wings for full-time rotation spots. And, Jacob Faria has already laid claim to a starting job with five brilliant starts.
- Derek Holland: Holland has given the division-rival White Sox 16 starts of 4.52 ERA ball and a total of 87 1/3 innings, but his production has cratered over the past month or so. He’s averaging 7.8 K/9 but 3.7 BB/9 and 1.75 HR/9. Metrics like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all actually feel that he’s been somewhat fortunate to hold down that 4.52 ERA. Holland is affordable, though, with a $6MM base salary and $2MM worth of incentives ($1MM for reaching 150 innings and another $1MM for 200 frames).
- Lance Lynn: As is the case with Cobb, Lynn is no lock to be available. The Cards are a manageable 5.5 games out of the NL Central lead and may take their deadline course of action down to the wire. However, they could also simply slide Luke Weaver into Lynn’s rotation spot, so there’s room to move him even if they still aim to contend. Lynn has a 3.87 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate through 95 1/3 innings in his first year back from Tommy John. But, he’s also been torched for 1.9 HR/9, as 19.6 percent of the fly-balls he’s yielded have left the yard. That’s a 10 percent departure from his career mark of 9.3 percent, so perhaps the home run spike is somewhat fluky. If the Royals (or another club) believes him capable of reigning in the homers, Lynn’s $7.5MM salary is hardly backbreaking.
- Jaime Garcia: Garcia has bombed over his past four starts, allowing five runs or more in each outing. He’s still sporting a 4.55 ERA on the season with a 54.3 percent ground-ball rate, 6.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. None of those are especially eye-catching, and the Royals may well wish the Braves to pay down some of the $5.7MM that remains on his $12MM salary. The Braves, though, are surely open to moving Garcia, who looks to be a steadier option than the Royals’ current fifth starter, Travis Wood.
Other potentially available rentals include Jeremy Hellickson, Johnny Cueto, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano, though each of that bunch makes more than anyone listed here and/or has struggled on the mound thus far. Yu Darvish would be the only potential ace that’d be available as a rental, but he’s reportedly likely to stay put even if the Rangers fall out of the race, and the asking price on him would be exorbitant anyhow.
From a broader perspective, Moore’s comments seem to throw cold water on any suggestion that Kansas City would entertain the thought of trading key impending free agents like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Jason Vargas and Mike Minor. (Alcides Escobar, too, is a free agent, though his lack of production makes him a tough sell as a trade candidate anyhow.) Those names have all recently fallen off of MLBTR’s list of this summer’s top 60 trade candidates.
They can have Pineda for free.
Please take him
Clayton Richard? been quietly having a very decent year.
An almost 5 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP and leading the league in hits allowed isn’t what I’d call a “very decent year”.
His FIP is still 4.3, so I’m not sure I’d want to part with any prospects to hope he could figure it out during a pennant race.
Thank you…that guy cud b pretty useful as a number 3 or 4 for a pennant race
You’d think they’d give Cueto a look just for what he did for them in 2015. Giants probably aren’t expecting a ton in return
While it seems likely Cueto will opt-out, this article does state they don’t want to add significant salary. I don’t think they take the chance on Cueto not opting out.
I think they would. They have enough money coming off the books that they could afford his salary even if he opted in. I actually think they might get him considering his market might not be that robust what with his not pitching super well and his weird contract situation.
Cueto would be a good pickup for a final push this year.
Cueto was pretty bad during the regular season when he was with the Royals (4.76 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP).
They even had to avoid pitching him on the road during the playoffs when it was possible because they didn’t trust him to get outs unless he was pitching in Kauffman Stadium. It got to the point with fans that we were scared when he was on the mound because you didn’t know which Cueto you were getting.
No chance they trade for him unless they can get him for a song and a dance, the Giants ate a ton of his salary this year AND he guarantees to opt out at the end of the season. Even then I doubt they’d do it.
Lynn for hosmer?
Why would the Royals trade Hosmer when they are trying to win? Did you not read the last paragraph?
Not that Lynn would be enough for Hosmer anyway!!
Royals should sell , restock the farm system since they traded the farm system away in 2015
You only get to compete for a couple of years every decade or two in a mid market city. Make the run while you can and go for it. How many “highly touted” prospects turn out busts anyway? Why take the chance when you can compete now.
Not saying u share the opinion…but don’t get how stuff like taht is said and then the A’s FO and Billy Beane gets so much bad rep for being overrated or just flat out bad….I think it’s been 9 playoff appearances in the last 16 years and a lot more years of being in the running.
What would it take from Kansas City to get Cahill or Chacin from the Padres?
Probably not a lot.. Cahill might draw more attention from teams since he is a starter and has relief experience. Chacin probably be had for a low level prospect.
Cahill? A prospect that Royals fans would be screaming about. Staumont or Skoglund plus a low level prospect. I know that neither are top 100 types, but Royals fans won’t like it.
Chacin? Someone like Corey Ray would get the job done.
They’re not trading Staumont for a 3 month rental player who hasn’t been a full time starter since 2013.
They’re definitely not trading three guys for him either.
Also, the fact that you think Royals fans would be screaming if they traded Skoglund shows me you know very little about the Royals franchise and fan base.
You are right. We never see any Royals fans on here so we don’t know what they think. I do know this, almost all fans think their prospects bottoms don’t stink, so saying that a team will be trading a top 2 or 3 prospect in their system for a starting pitcher like Cahill makes most of them scream, even when that prospect is not a very good prospect.
Neither Staumont or Skoglund is very good in comparison to the guys we typically see as the #2 and #3 prospect in most teams systems. Neither would crack the top 20 in the Padres system. Staumont has a 6.28 ERA and is walking nearly 1 per inning. Skoglund has a 4.42 ERA in 8 starts in AAA. Neither is setting the world on fire.
Trading either of them for Cahill would not even be a possibility for the Royals if Cahill had stayed healthy all season. The only reason a prospect like that could bring back a MLB pitcher of Cahill’s caliber, even on a rental, is because of his DL time this season. It doesn’t matter if Cahill put up those numbers as a reliever or a starter. He is a proven commodity at the MLB level and Staumont and Skoglund are fringy prospects.
Yeah I get it that Lynn might be light for hosmer but the cards have shown no sign of selling off either so they’d need improvement on offense for Lynn. What else would cards and royals match up on? Or what would they need to add to Lynn for hosmer?
Why would they sell their first baseman when the point is to buy to contend. It basically nullifies the trade for the royals.
exactly when you are trying to contend one of the last things you want to trade is your starting first baseman!!!
More than likely a move for Lynn by the Royals would net the Cards minor league talent. Weaver would fill in for Lynn and the Cards may find a piece to bolster for the future.
Jonny Cueto part 2
Orioles should offer up Miley and Tillman for a souvenir Royals World Series program and a George Brett autographed baseball.
The program is fine but the highest we will go is an autographed Jamie Quirk game-worn sock.
What would be realistic return for royals for Lynn?
junis and o’hearn
They are sellers. Believe that
They are the second hottest team in the AL over roughly the last month and the front office is clearly stating that they are going to be buyers so that is precisely contradictory to your assessment
Sign Bartolo……u only have too pay em w/KC BBQ.
That would be far too much. He would eat them out of house and hearth.
KC values its BBQ too highly to surrender the quantity needed to land Big Sexy
Cobb was no where close to a borderline ace. Absolutely not worth a QO. Barely a #5
The royals might not be far behing in the al central race, but they should sell off hosmer , moustakus , escobar and cain to restock the farm system.
I would rather see them trade better prospects for Ivan Nova or Sonny Gray. If that does not happen, I would take Cueto if DM got a guarantee he will opt out at the end of the season and not handcuff the Royals financially!!
The Royals don’t even have a single top 100 prospect. It isn’t likely the Royals can offer anything to net Nova or Gray.
I can see the Pirates dealing some veterans, but I don’t think Nova will be one of them. Nova and the Bucs seem like a very happy match.
I’m starting to think these writers are insane. Another team needs pitching and here’s the list again…. over and over again and again.
This trade deadline is gonna be boring as hell cause every team in baseball seems to be in it. Except for the Giants
Giants , Padres , White Sox , A’s are not in it. Giants should really sell a lot of pieces, they need to get some good prospects in return.
White sox want too much for their players. Someone should get Sonny Gray. Hand from San Diego and what is San Francisco willing to part with?
I doubt we would trade for Cueto again, but that would be hilarious. He wasn’t a good fit and didn’t perform well until those two classic playoff performances. Granted, that was all we really needed from him in 2015. I hate to see the Royals deplete the farm system at all because we really don’t have much to work with. Getting Cahill or Chacin for a bag of balls seems the most likely outcome. I don’t think this team can compete for the WS, but I understand not selling now. It’s just gonna hurt for the next 4 years when we’re cellar dwellers.