Although Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is an obvious trade candidate, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears (video link) that he’s unlikely to bring back much in a deal at his current pace. As Rosenthal points out, Moustakas’ offensive output has faded as the season has progressed, and the lefty-swinger has struggled all year against same-handed pitchers, who have limited him to a .224/.253/.353 line. He’s also due around $3MM after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. All of those factors figure to harm Moustakas’ value, Rosenthal posits. After hitting .272/.314/.521 with 38 home runs in 598 plate appearances last year, Moustakas failed to generate much interest in free agency, leading him to re-sign with the Royals for a $6.5MM guarantee in early March. Three months later, he’s slashing an unremarkable .259/.314/.474 with 13 HRs through 296 trips to the plate.
More from the league’s Central divisions…
- The Indians are awaiting word on right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who departed his start Saturday after a 99.6 mph line drive off the bat of the Twins’ Joe Mauer struck him in the pitching elbow. Carrasco left after 1 1/3 innings with what the team called a forearm contusion, though manager Terry Francona said afterward (via Joe Noga of cleveland.com) that he’s undergoing tests on his elbow to rule out further damage. “When you look inside a pitcher’s elbow, there’s a lot going on,” Francona said. “Right now, they said it was a contusion. The hope is that’s all it is. We’ll know more by late tonight.” Saturday continued a somewhat down year for Carrasco, who allowed four earned runs to lift his ERA to 4.24 (compared to 3.29 last season), though his secondary numbers paint a far more hopeful picture.
- Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong is on track to come off the disabled list in early July, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. DeJong, out since suffering a fractured left hand May 17, has been cleared to resume hitting and is aiming to take batting practice during the upcoming week. Meanwhile, injured reliever Dominic Leone has “turned the corner from uncertainty to progressing in the right direction,” according to general manager Michael Girsch (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Leone now looks likely to return this year, which wasn’t the case before, Goold notes. A nerve issue in Leone’s right biceps has kept him on the shelf since May 5.
- The Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus announced that it has placed center fielder Bradley Zimmer on the DL, retroactive to June 14, with right shoulder discomfort. The injury continues a Murphy’s Law 2018 for Zimmer, who was on the major league DL earlier this season with a rib contusion and then was demoted to Triple-A on June 5 after limping to a .226/.281/.330 line in 114 PAs. He also hasn’t posed a threat in the minors this year, albeit over a mere 28 PAs, with a .148/.179/.259 line and 11 strikeouts against one walk.
I would still say a .788 OPS by Moose is still pretty decent. Maybe not anything to bring back a top 10 organizational prospect but still can bring a couple wild cards back with high ceilings. I know the Angels would most likely be interest come the trade deadline, with all of their injuries and lack of impact by Kinsler and Cozart
A “Murphy’s Law 2018” for Bradley Zimmer is actually a great way to describe it. If you had told me that Greg Allen would have passed him on the depth chart (even only temporarily), I would have been shocked.
Whining battery chucking Giants fans always crack me up.
“Battery chucking”? You mean Giants fans throw up pitcher-and-catcher combos?
If the implication is that other teams are going to try to steal Moose from KC which many on here substantiate, then KC needs to sign him long term so he can morph into a DH and be a legacy player for that franchise like Brett, White, Otis, McRae, etc. Like Salvy, he means more to the Royals than to other teams & if they can’t bring back what they (Dayton Moore & crew) deem an equitable return, just trade/DFA elsewhere & build around both players who still are in their 20’s! There’s no need to move them for nothing or very little coming back if in fact that’s the consensus perspective and or reality…
Jed Lowrie is leapfrogging over Moose now he’s back playing 3B in place of the injured Chapman. Better hitter and defender at all INF spots having a much better year although he’s slumped heavily in the last month. Off versatility alone I’m thinking he might get a top 10-15ish org prospect or two.