Royals Shopping Infante, Listening On Relievers

TODAY: Kansas City is leaving other clubs with the impression that they are willing, albeit hesitant, to deal from amongst its trio of late-inning arms, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). To do so, however, the Royals would need a controllable player at a position of need: either an impact bat in right or a starting pitcher.

YESTERDAY, 12:30pm: The Royals are making Omar Infante available, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Roughly one year ago today, the Royals signed Infante to a four-year deal for more than $30MM plus incentives with a $10MM team option for 2018.  The soon-to-be 33-year-old batted .318/.345/.450 with 10 homers and solid second base defense for the Tigers in 2013.  However, his production slid in 2014 as he hit just .252/.295/.337 with subpar work in the field (-3.0 UZR/150).  His .632 OPS was his worst in nearly a decade, but with a lack of quality second base options out there, Infante could have value.

12:08pm: The Royals have been telling teams that relievers Greg Holland, Wade Davis, and Kelvin Herrera are not available, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).  McCullough cautions (link) that that things could conceivably change with David Robertson now off the market, however.

That news comes as something of a surprise given the amount of trade buzz we’ve heard about the trio this week.  Just yesterday we heard that the Royals were listening to offers on all three relievers with an eye on turning their bullpen strength into an outfield bat.  Trading a reliever could bring KC a much more affordable outfield solution than, say, free agent Melky Cabrera, but it would also chip away at what helped make the Royals such a strong team in 2014.

The Blue Jays were said to be in pursuit of Holland and the Royals reportedly considered him to be available, albeit with a high price tag.  McCullough speculated that Holland’s delivery and build could have KC worried about his durability, but their concerns might not be enough for them to ship him out.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects him to earn $9.3MM in 2015, but that doesn’t appear to be a prohibitive cost for KC.