We heard from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark back on May 20 that the Royals were telling teams interested in making a trade to "get back to them in a month." There's still a couple of weeks to go before that supposed deadline, but really, it should never be too early for Kansas City to continue their rebuilding process by trying to move some of their veterans. Scott Podsednik has had a solid year but is somewhat of a one-dimensional speed threat, and Jose Guillen, as Stark noted, is hard to move given his big contract.
The most attractive overall bit of trade bait seems to be David DeJesus. The career Royal is having another solid season, posting an .846 OPS over 228 plate appearances going into today's play. That OPS would be a career-best mark over a full season for DeJesus if he can keep it up. Defensively, he has been above average in right field this year but could be a real asset in left field given his 18.9 lifetime UZR/150 rating at the position.
Contract-wise, DeJesus has about $3.14MM left on the $4.7MM salary he's slated to earn in 2010. The final year of his current deal is a club option worth $6MM for 2011, with a $500K buyout. For a team in need of outfield help, a $3.64MM minimum for two-plus months of DeJesus is pretty reasonable, and that $6MM option might not be a bad pickup either given the circumstance.
With his good play in 2010, DeJesus might have generated the trade market for himself that the Royals hoped would be there last winter. What contenders could be possible destinations for DeJesus?
- San Diego. It's still odd to think of the Padres adding salary at the deadline, but if they're still near first place in July, DeJesus could fill holes at either corner outfield spot.
- San Francisco. Pat Burrell has been signed but he's a major defensive liability in the outfield and may be also be used at first base and as a pinch-hitter. The Giants may not have the money for DeJesus and have a lot of options in LF and RF already, but DeJesus is certainly a more proven contributor than the likes of Andres Torres and Nate Schierholtz. San Fran's need could grow if Mark DeRosa ends up spending more time on the disabled list.
- Tampa Bay. Adding DeJesus would allow the Rays to move Ben Zobrist out of right and back to second base if Sean Rodriguez continues to struggle. DeJesus' contract is modest enough for the Rays to absorb and they certainly have enough good prospects to spare in a swap with K.C.
- Texas. Nelson Cruz's hamstring problems, plus the hitting woes of Julio Borbon and David Murphy, leave the Rangers in need of some outfield reinforcements. With the uncertainty surrounding the club's ownership situation, though, the Rangers might not be able to afford any decently-priced help at the trade deadline.
- Washington. It might be a stretch to consider the Nationals as contenders given their 6-14 mark over their last 20 games, but if the Nats can ride the Stephen Strasburg momentum and get back in the race, DeJesus would be a big help to their right field problems. DeJesus' presence would eliminate the need to put Cristian Guzman in right as a defensive replacement, thus preventing critical errors like the one that cost Washington this afternoon.
I’d really like DeJesus on the A’s. Been watching him from afar for years. Be a great addition to pick up and throw in Left Field.
Gotta imagine Michael Taylor is up sometime this year.
Not the way he’s hitting.
No way TB does this IMO. They’ve got Desmond Jennings waiting in the wings if they want an outfielder to allow Zorilla to play 2nd.
plus i think it would make more sense for the rays to just replace rodriguez with brignac. he’s played some 2nd this season and has hit pretty well (807 OPS in 117 ABs).
Jennings is banged up and not hitting well.
What about the Mets? He won’t require a huge package of prospects, he’s not terribly expensive, and Frenchy is terribly terrible.
This is exactly the move I have been hoping the Padres would make. Makes sense all the way around. Reasonable salary and represents a big upgrade to the Starting outfielders the Padres have. All are batting below .240. What are the royals going to want in return?
Royals get:
Luebke
Darnell/Foresythe
Cedric Hunter
Padres get:
DeJesus
I don’t see the Padres moving Darnell. Maybe Forsythe in the right deal. As with any deal you have to look at it from both sides. According to the report on MASNsports about the Nats need of a RF in which he takes a look at DeJesus he says the royals want bullpen help and a prospect. The Padres might move Bell/Adams, but is that really want the Royals are looking for? Gregerson is not going to be moved, he would be the attractive bullpen piece for the Royals. I have a hard time figuring if Bell or DeJesus is worth more at this point, they both have this year and next under control for about the same money (DeJesus option for 11 is 6 mil, Bell arb 3 6-7mil). My gut tells me Bell, considering the “value” of closers but you just can’t tell anymore. The question is are the Padres willing to break up their strong pen to get more offense or try and convince the Royals to take something like you suggested. Personally I don’t see the Padres offering that kind of value for DeJesus even if he is a solid fit and upgrade, the Padres themselves are still figuring out their future and wont give up two of their top ten prospects up.
The talk of bullpen help is a month old now. The Royals bullpen has settled down because they have made some moves already to improve it. I don’t see that as much of a need anymore. I think they Royals just want prospects at this point.
I doubt the Royals need to pluck Gregerson or Bell from our major league roster in exchange for DeJesus. The players Scott named are some of our most advanced prospects and would surely be enticing. If the Royals are adamant about bullpen help we could thrown in a prospect along the lines of Ernesto Freiri or Craig Italiano who are ripping it up in Triple A and Double A respectively.
Royals: Forsythe, Hunter, Luebke, Freiri
Padres: DeJesus
Padres Double A team would lose almost every game for the rest of the year, but Lake Elsinore will feed them talent next year. That crop of talent on our High A team is exciting.
P.S. Please do not trade Simon Castro this year. Pleaaseeee.
Don’t worry, Castro isn’t going anywhere but AAA.
I see the nats.
DeJesus to the Nats makes sense, but what will KC take? Capps & Marrero is too high, Burnett & Burgess?
i thought the giants said they were willing to spend some cash at the deadline. maybe not.
Nobody fux with DeJesus
Could be a huge upgrade for the Braves in left field and help take the stress off of Mcclouth and Heyward. Would be a really interesting pick-up for the Braves.
I always forget about David DeJesus. I guess that happens if you spend your whole career as a Royal. They just don’t get much attention unless they are named Zach. The Padres should seriously look into him. He’s a well rounded player. KC should ask for pitching-perhaps one starter and one reliever, and at least one of them should already be on their 25 man roster. The Padres don’t have much in the way of outfielders in their system, so having him under a fairly reasonable contract for next year could be a big help this year and next year while they continue to look for more long term solutions.
Rays, Rangers, Pads, Braves. He’d help any one of those teams immensely. He’d probably prefer the W.C. given that the warmer weather might warm up his bat some. Question is, who can offer K.C. the best package of players &/or prospects.
Rays – 1st
Rangers – 1st*
Pads – 1st
Braves – 1st
*Tied
I could also see Detroit gettin’ involved as well. DD would only add to that arsenal in the Tiger O.F. with Jackson in C.F. & Mags in R.F. Don’t know if Dayton Moore would wanna deal within the division though.
David DeJesus gets no love from KC fans, reminds me of Franceour or Ryan Church, solid players who are much maligned because they don’t live up to over-inflated expectations. DeJesus is no All-Star, but he’d make a solid addition in Washington, who desperatly need stability in RF and a solid #6 LH hitter to compliment Josh Willingham.
DeJesus shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as those players. DeJesus is a very solid player on a bad team. Ryan Church is a backup corner outfielder and Jeff Franceour is replacement level.
Jeff Franceous isn’t even solid. That’s his problem.
Honestly, I want him to stay here in KC but with all the stuff he’s done over the years for us, he deserves a postseason run. The team that makes the most sense to me is the Nats because they need RF most (even though Davey’s a LF by nature) and we could get something out of them that’d make it worthwhile.
You bring joy to my heart, Mr. Nelson. I’m all in for the DeJesus lobby and fans that like him and wish this for him are good stuff. The Nats have nothing coming up in RF until Michael Burgess at the earliest. There’s an outside chance that he’d be ready by 2013. What do you think that Royals would want for him, though? The Nationals have some pitching inventory, but they are awfully thing when it comes to bats in the upper minors.
@ estuartj FYI: the fans in KC know the value of Dejesus and respect the man. He is a solid producer year after year.
@ estuartj FYI: the fans in KC know the value of Dejesus and respect the man. He is a solid producer year after year.
The Royals minor league system has a lot of talent in AA and high A ball. They would love to get a top prospect that plays the field and would be ready with that group in NWARK and another high risk high reward type prospect. David gets plenty of love in KC but his value is about to decline after this year because he won’t put these kinds of numbers up again.