Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Hart, Angels, Blue Jays, Mariners

By | at

Some links for Saturday as Roy Oswalt prepares to make what might be the final start of his Astros' career…

Jose Guillen Drawing Interest

By | at

There are several teams with at least "a passing interest" in Jose Guillen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal names the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Padres, and Giants as potential Guillen suitors.

The Giants, who have been connected to virtually every available outfielder, were said to have scouted Guillen last night. However, most of the other clubs Rosenthal lists have yet to be linked to Guillen. The Yanks, Sox, Mets, and Padres could all be in the market for another outfielder, and may not have to take on too much salary to acquire Guillen — last month, we heard from ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Royals were willing to eat a good chunk of the money owed to the 34-year-old. Guillen has approximately $4.76MM remaining on his $12MM 2010 salary.

With David DeJesus on the disabled list for the rest of the season, Guillen (.279/.342/.463) has become the Royals' most appealing chip for teams in search of outfield help.

Royals Designate Anthony Lerew For Assignment

By | at

A day after the Royals acquired Sean O'Sullivan from the Angels in exchange for Alberto Callaspo, Kansas City has added O'Sullivan to their active roster. To make room for the right-hander, the team designated Anthony Lerew for assignment, according to a press release.

Lerew started six games for the Royals this year, compiling a 3.63 ERA in his first three starts before getting hit hard (18.00 ERA) in his next three. Lerew's 26.1 IP represent a career high for the former Brave, who was ranked as a top-100 prospect by Baseball America in both 2005 and 2006.

This is the second time this season that the Royals have designated the 27-year-old for assignment.

David DeJesus Out For The Year

By | at

The Royals have lost their best outfielder and their best trade chip. David DeJesus has a complete ligament tear in his right thumb, is out for the year and will likely undergo surgery Monday, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). DeJesus crashed into the outfield wall last night and the Royals placed him on the 15-day DL this morning.

The outfielder's strong all-around play and team-friendly contract made him a consideration for teams like the Giants, Padres, Red Sox and Rays. The Royals will still have the option of buying DeJesus out for $500K or paying him $6MM for 2011. The 30-year-old spent most of his time in right field, but he also played in center. He finishes the season with a .318/.384/.443 line.

The news is a major blow for the Royals, who miss out on the chance to acquire valuable pieces for DeJesus. The team still has trade chips (Kyle Farnsworth, Willie Bloomquist, Jose Guillen) but none appear to be as valuable as DeJesus was.

Odds & Ends: Greinke, Cardinals, DeJesus, Guillen

By | at

Links for Friday, exactly one year after the Rockies acquired Rafael Betancourt…

Royals Like Jeff Francoeur

By | at

The Royals 'like' Jeff Francoeur, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Mets would like to trade Francoeur, and Royals GM Dayton Moore was in the Braves front office when the right-fielder made a name for himself in Atlanta, so the Mets and Royals could become trade partners. About $2MM remains on Francoeur's salary, and that's an obstacle for the Royals, according to Rosenthal.

The 26-year-old told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork that he wouldn't mind getting traded. Even if he stays in New York for the rest of the season, Francoeur may get a change of scenery this winter, since he's a non-tender candidate. Francoeur has hit .247/.297/.380 this year, though he did post an .836 OPS after the Mets traded for him in 2009.

Royals Notes: DeJesus, Trades, Ankiel, Gordon

By | at

David DeJesus left tonight's Royals/Yankees game with a sprained right thumb, suffered after colliding with the wall in an attempt to catch a Derek Jeter fly ball.  MLB.com's Tim Britton reports that DeJesus will miss the rest of the four-game series, and Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets that DeJesus will see a hand specialist on Friday.  "He might be out a while," Dutton warns.

With Kansas City's luck, would it be any surprise if the team's most attractive trading chip had to go on the DL in the week before the deadline?  Here are some (possibly now moot) DeJesus trade chatter and other Royals-related items…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore appeared on Jim Bowden's XM 175 radio show today, and told Bowden that teams interested in DeJesus were looking at him to play left or right field, not center.  (Twitter link)
  • Bowden also tweeted Moore's comment that he's talking to 3-6 teams about trades but also "checking in" with others.  The Royals are focusing on moving players in the last year of their contracts.
  • One such player is Rick Ankiel, who has a $6MM mutual option for 2011 that K.C. is unlikely to pick up.  Ankiel has been called up by the Royals in what Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com thinks is a showcase for a possible trade, but still a bad roster move given how Alex Gordon's Triple-A numbers make him far more worthy of a return to the majors.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer also comments on the Ankiel call-up, and notes that "suddenly the Royals have some of the best prospects in the minors."  The issue, as Neyer explains, is that these prospects are blocked by underperforming veterans.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) quotes a Royals source who says that K.C. would have to "win the deal" for the team to move DeJesus.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Giants "continue to keep tabs" on DeJesus, "but the asking price remained high."  Baggarly says San Francisco has more interest in Washington's Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham.
  • The Padres have been connected to DeJesus in trade rumors, but MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets that "not everyone in the Padres camp is sold on [Corey] Hart or DeJesus. Regardless of asking price."

Angels Acquire Alberto Callaspo

By | at

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star is reporting (via Twitter) that infielder Alberto Callaspo has been dealt from the Royals to the Angels in exchange for right-hander Sean O'Sullivan and minor league left-hander Will Smith.

Callaspo has a modest .275/.308/.410 line in 373 plate appearances this season, though that still represents a big upgrade over the .411 OPS of Brandon Wood, who has seen most of the action for the Halos at third base.  Callaspo was originally signed by the Angels as a free agent in 2001, and spent four years in the club's system before being dealt to Arizona for Jason Bulger in 2006.  With Callaspo now in L.A., it potentially opens up a spot at third base for Mike Moustakas should the Royals want to give their top prospect a look over the last two months of the season.  Moustakas has an OPS of 1.067 in 326 plate appearances at Double-A and Triple-A this season.  

O'Sullivan, 22, has spent most of his year at Triple-A Salt Lake City, where he has posted a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts.  A third-round pick in the 2005 amateur draft, O'Sullivan was the Angels' organizational pitcher of the year in 2007 and has a 5.15 ERA in 17 career major league games (11 of them starts).

The Royals rejected a previous offer for Callaspo two days ago that consisted of O'Sullivan and "a fringe prospect," so presumably K.C. was more attracted to Smith, a seventh-round pick in the 2008 amateur draft.  Smith has a 4.24 ERA and a 3.47 K/BB ratio in 55 games (52 of them starts) in the Los Angeles minor league system, though his numbers have worsened this season as he's been elevated from high-A ball to Triple-A. 

Olney On Hart, Bautista, Soria

By | at

The White Sox would love to trade for a big bat, but rival executives don’t see much depth in their system, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That may make it tough for GM Kenny Williams to create an enticing offer for Prince Fielder without including Gordon Beckham (that kind of offer just doesn’t seem likely). Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • Lots of teams are interested in Corey Hart.
  • Yesterday Olney reported that some executives thought Jose Bautista could earn an eight-figure salary through arbitration next year. We crunched the numbers and concluded that it would be a surprise to see him make much more than $6MM. Other officials contacted Olney to say that they would be “stunned” if the slugger made more than $5-6MM in 2011.
  • Rival executives say Joakim Soria’s contract is so team-friendly that it would be difficult for the Royals to trade him. The team has affordable options for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Giants Interested In Bautista, Hart, DeJesus

By | at

The Giants are interested in MLB home run leader Jose Bautista, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported today that the Blue Jays are asking for elite young players in exchange for Bautista, but the Giants must be getting used to such demands, since they're eyeing other top hitters.

The Giants remain interested in Corey Hart and David DeJesus, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Adam Dunn and Jorge Cantu are also on the team's radar.

Cantu has drawn interest from the Rangers and Angels; the Nationals are reluctant to trade Dunn; the Brewers want Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner for Hart; and the Royals have a steep asking price for DeJesus but teams are still interested. None of those bats will come cheap and the Giants know that better than anyone. They're presumably willing to give up talent to improve an offensive attack that ranks ninth in the NL.

The Braves, Padres, White Sox, Rays and Rangers are among the teams that could also be bidding for hitters, so the price could remain high until the July 31st deadline.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top