Blue Jays Showing Interest In Andrew Benintendi
MLB’s August 2nd Trade Deadline is more than a month away, but the Blue Jays are already showing early interest in Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Morosi further speculates that Kansas City’s bullpen arms may be of some interest to Toronto, whose crop of relievers currently sport the game’s 24th best ERA.
The Blue Jays for their part are hardly hurting on offense, as the team currently sports the best OPS in all of baseball. At the rate he’s producing, however, Benintendi and his .303/.368/.391 (116 OPS+) slash would be a boon to any lineup. The reigning Gold Glove winner may also be viewed as a more reliable candidate to man left field than Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who has drawn more divisive reviews of his glovework in recent seasons.
A left-handed bat his been on the Blue Jays wishlist since last offseason, though to date the only left-handed hitters to grace the Jays lineup this season with some regularity have been Cavan Biggio, backup catcher Zack Collins, and light-hitting outfielder Raimel Tapia. A hypothetical Benintendi acquisition would represent a way to diversify the handedness of the Jays’ lineup, though doing so would likely relegate Gurriel Jr. to an overqualified bench role or indirectly infringe on Biggio’s playing time.
It’s worth noting that Benintendi wouldn’t be a lock to start every game for an acquiring team, as his platoon splits, particularly this year, have painted him as much more adept hitter against right-handed pitching. Acquiring Benintendi then, who is a free agent at the end of the season, would improve the team’s outfield defense, lineup balance, and bench in one shape or another for what figures to be a minimal prospect cost.
Kansas City may seem an odd fit for reliever shopping, as their bullpen has uncharacteristically struggled to worse run prevention numbers than the Jays’. The unit is led by one of the more unheralded closers in the league however, as right-hander Scott Barlow has posted a 2.36 ERA with strong peripherals dating back to last year (107 innings). The Royals are under no obligation to ship the 29-year-old Barlow anywhere, sought after as he likely will be, due to his additional three years of team control.
With a 13-game gulf between the second-place Jays and the first-place Yankees there’s likely little expectation that a modest outfield upgrade or bullpen improvement will be the driving forces behind a second half surge. Still, the team is currently nestled atop a tight Wild Card race, with Boston, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland no more than 3.5 games back and only three playoff spots to split between them. Any acquisitions the Jays make within the next month figure to help the club field a more competitive team come October and, more pressingly, stave off a number of clubs who are a hot-streak away from upending the Wild Card race altogether.
Royals Trade Carlos Santana To Mariners, Promote Vinnie Pasquantino
The Mariners have acquired first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana and cash from the Royals in exchange for right-handers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming, per a team announcement. The trade paves the road for the Royals to take an overdue look at top prospect Vinnie Pasquantino, whose contract has been formally selected from Triple-A Omaha, according to the team. Right-hander Ronald Bolanos has been designated for assignment in order to open a spot on Kansas City’s 40-man roster.
Monday’s trade closes the book on a generally underwhelming Kansas City tenure for Santana, who inked a two-year, $17.5MM contract in advance of the 2021 season but has yet to round into the form that made him such a valuable contributor for years in Cleveland. The switch-hitting 36-year-old tallied 871 plate appearances with the Royals and posted just a .215/.326/.341 batting line — about 12% worse than league-average after weighting for park and league, by measure of wRC+.
Santana managed to turn things around in recent weeks, however, and has shown enough this month for the Mariners to take a low-cost look now that they suddenly find themselves in need of a first baseman. Ty France, Seattle’s most consistent hitter this season, recently landed on the injured list and figures to be out for a good bit longer than that 10-day minimum, given the diagnosis of a Grade 2 flexor strain. Santana shouldn’t be expected to fully replace France’s brilliant .316/.390/.476 batting line, but he’s managed a .298/.405/.468 output himself over his past 27 games and 111 plate appearances.
In all likelihood, the Royals are paying the vast majority of what remains on Santana’s contract. He’s still owed the balance of this year’s $10.5MM salary (about $5.8MM), and that number will increase based on plate appearances. Santana, who already has 212 plate appearances this season, will earn an additional $75K for every 25th plate appearance from 300 to 525.
It’s not the first time the Mariners have acquired Santana, though whenever he takes the field in a Mariners jersey, it’ll be his first actual game with the team. Seattle actually acquired Santana alongside J.P. Crawford in the deal that sent Jean Segura, Juan Nicasio and James Pazos to the Phillies back in Dec. 2018. However, not two weeks later, Santana was traded to Cleveland in the three-team swap that brought Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle. Encarnacion spent a half season slugging as the Mariners’ designated hitter before being flipped to the Yankees for righty Juan Then.
This time around, it’ll be a pair of right-handers going to Kansas City in exchange for the final three-plus months of control over Santana. Of the two righties in question, only Mills has big league experience thus far. The 27-year-old has pitched a total of 21 1/3 frames over the past two seasons but struggled to a 7.59 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates in that time (17.3% and 10.2%, respectively).
Mills, the No. 93 overall pick in 2017, has more interesting but also inconsistent numbers in the upper minors. The sidearming righty fanned a whopping 44.7% of his opponents through 28 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball last year, for instance, but that rate has been halved so far in 2022 over the course of 19 2/3 innings. There’s no velocity change between his ’21 and ’22 campaigns, though Mills did throw more fastballs at the expense of some slider usage during this year’s small sample of 8 2/3 big league innings. The 6’4″ righty has never ranked as one of the Mariners’ very best prospects, but Baseball America has listed him among Seattle’s top 25 farmhands dating back to the time he was drafted.
Fleming, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old righty whom the Mariners selected in the 11th round just one year ago. He generally hasn’t been considered among the Mariners’ best prospects either — though FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen did tab him 28th earlier this year — and has posted fairly pedestrian numbers in Class-A Modesto despite being a former college arm who’s older than his average opponent at that level. So far, Fleming has tossed 67 2/3 innings over 14 starts and logged a 4.92 ERA with a 20.7% strikeout rate against an 8.4% walk rate.
For the Royals, the arms received in exchange for Santana are secondary when it comes to this trade. The greater purpose of the swap was to at last open playing time for the 6’4″, 245-pound Pasquantino, who has mashed his way into top prospect status by dominating at every minor league stop, including Triple-A this season. So far, Pasquantino has taken 296 turns at the plate for the Storm Chasers and posted a huge .280/.372/.576 batting line with 18 home runs, 16 doubles two triples and more walks (37) than strikeouts (36).
Given his size and lack of speed, Pasquantino is locked into a first base-only (or designated hitter) profile, but there’s every indication so far that his bat will play in the Majors. Scouting reports at Baseball America and FanGraphs indicate that he’s improved enough with the glove to be average or slightly better, and Pasquantino has never posted an OBP lower than .371 or a slugging percentage lower than .560 at any minor league level. And, given the dearth of strikeouts in his game, he’s been able to maintain a .293 average throughout his minor league tenure to date.
Even without much defensive value to prop up his value, Pasquantino ranks as the game’s No. 57 prospect over at Baseball America. He checks in 95th at FanGraphs and 98th at MLB.com, with all three scouting reports praising his plus (or better) hit tool and above-average power.
The organizational hope is that between Pasquantino and fellow slugger Nick Pratto — also a first base-only, top-100 prospect — they’ll have their first base and DH slots covered for years to come. Pasquantino’s promotion to the Majors is late enough that he should avoid Super Two status, and he’ll be controllable for at least six full seasons beyond the current campaign.
As for the 25-year-old Bolanos, he’s seen action with Kansas City in each of the past three seasons but has posted pedestrian numbers on the whole. Once a notable Padres signing out of Cuba, he was traded to the Royals alongside Franchy Cordero in the 2020 trade that sent Tim Hill to San Diego. He’s since combined for 28 1/3 innings of 4.76 ERA ball with a lackluster 24-to-17 K/BB ratio.
Bolanos does have a respectable 4.42 ERA in 18 1/3 innings this year, but his average fastball of 93.6 mph is down about two miles per hour from its peak and that ERA comes in spite of an even number of walks to strikeouts. Add in that he’s limped to a 5.49 ERA in 19 2/3 Triple-A frames this season, and it was enough for the Royals to decide they’re willing to move on. Of course, the DFA doesn’t necessarily spell the end of his time in the organization. Kansas City will have a week to trade Bolanos if there’s interest, but the Royals can also attempt to pass him through outright waivers at some point in the next week. If he goes unclaimed, he’d remain with the organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.
AL Central Injury Notes: Moncada, Smith, Staumont, Meadows
White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada should be activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, manager Tony La Russa told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters. Moncada’s placement (due to a right hamstring strain) was retroactive to June 18, so Tuesday would represent the minimum 10 days for the infielder.
Between this brief IL visit and the oblique injury that sidelined Moncada for the first month of the season, Moncada seems to have barely gotten out of the blocks in 2022, hitting only .179/.230/.292 in 113 plate appearances. While the Sox are happy to remove a name from their increasingly crowded injured list, they’ll need Moncada to get back to his old form in order for Chicago to start making a move in the playoff race.
Let’s catch up on some other injury situations from around the AL Central…
- The Twins placed veteran reliever Joe Smith on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his upper trap muscle. Left-hander Jovani Moran was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Now in his 15th Major League season, Smith has 2.78 ERA over 22 2/3 innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen, with his 62.7% grounder rate helping make up for an unimpressive set of Statcast metrics.
- The Royals placed right-hander Josh Staumont on the 15-day IL (retroactive to June 23) due to a neck strain. In corresponding moves, K.C. also optioned lefty Foster Griffin to Triple-A and called up right-handers Jackson Kowar and Matt Peacock. Staumont told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that his neck problem had been “lingering for the past couple games,” and Rogers noted that Staumont’s velocity had clearly been impacted over those last few outings. Staumont has a 3.81 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, and a high 14.7% walk rate over 26 innings for the Royals this season, and six of Staumont’s 17 walks allowed have come over his last four games.
- Austin Meadows will start a minor league rehab assignment this week, with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch telling reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that Meadows will likely start game action on Tuesday. Meadows was placed on the COVID-related IL on June 17 after testing positive for the coronavirus, but he has now cleared health protocols.
Royals Exploring Andrew Benintendi Trades
With the Royals struggling, Andrew Benintendi has been seen as a logical trade candidate as the deadline approaches. To this end, “the Royals are actively seeking a buyer for” the outfielder, The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham writes.
There isn’t any indication that a deal could be close, and it would be a little surprising to see Benintendi moved with more than a month remaining before the August 2 trade deadline. That said, Kansas City president of baseball operations Dayton Moore doesn’t always wait until the last minute to swing significant deadline moves. The Royals dealt Martin Maldonado and Homer Bailey in separate trades in mid-July 2019, and Kelvin Herrera and Jon Jay were moved in June of 2018.
In short, if a team steps up early to make what Moore deems to be an acceptable offer, K.C. could opt to get a jump-start on its deadline plans. With only a 26-43 record heading into today’s action, the Royals have the second-worst record in the American League, and have sunk to last place in the AL Central. Since the Royals have several of their best young players already in the majors and more on the way at Triple-A, it remains to be seen exactly how extensive their sell-off could be, beyond obvious pending free agents like Benintendi, Zack Greinke, or Carlos Santana. Such names as Michael A. Taylor or even longtime staple Whit Merrifield could potentially be available, depending on how much of a remodel Moore feels is necessary.
Of course, this wasn’t the plan for Moore and company, as the Royals thought they were on the verge of a breakout heading into the 2021 season. That offseason saw the club pick up veterans like Santana, Taylor, Mike Minor, and (in a three-team trade with the Red Sox and Mets) Benintendi to augment their younger core, but the results simply haven’t been there for the team.
Benintendi hasn’t been part of the problem, as he has hit .285/.339/.426 with 20 home runs over 825 plate appearances in a Royals uniform. With a 110 OPS+/111 wRC+ in that stretch, it represented a solid bounce-back for Benintendi after a subpar 2019 season in Boston and then essentially a lost 2020 season that was limited to 14 games by a rib injury. In addition to the above-average offense, Benintendi (who turns 28 on July 6) has also been a big contributor in the field, winning a Gold Glove for his left field work in 2021.
Last year’s work earned Benintendi an $8.5MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility, with the outfielder defeating the Royals in a hearing last month. Benintendi has roughly $4.4MM still owed in salary, so moving him earlier rather than later would allow the Royals to save a few dollars. As a rental player, Benintendi wouldn’t net Kansas City a huge prospect return, but he’d certainly bring back a quality minor leaguer or two. Any number of clubs in need of left field help and/or left-handed hitting could potentially fit as trade partners for Benintendi — speculatively, the Rays, Yankees, Guardians, Braves, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets, Marlins, or Rangers all make some sense as suitors.
Central Notes: Happ, Merrifield, Cabrera
With the Cubs currently sitting on a record of 27-44, speculation has naturally started building about players nearing free agency that could be moved at the August 2 trade deadline. One such player who will be coveted by rival teams is Ian Happ, though Happ doesn’t seem to be bothered by being the subject of rumors. “At some point, you get numb to it,” Happ tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “Everybody’s been through it at certain points. It’s something that you just kind of get numb to and understand it’s part of the job.”
Happ’s case will be an interesting one to watch this year, as there are arguments for holding onto him as well as arguments for trading him. He’s slated to reach free agency after the 2023 season, making him a fairly logical trade candidate for a rebuilding team that isn’t likely to be competitive within that time frame. He’s also having the best season of his career, meaning the club might want to put him on the block while his value is at high tide. He’s hitting .288/.385/.475 on the year for a wRC+ of 138. Combined with solid outfield defense, he’s produced 2.2 fWAR on the year, which is already a career high, even with more than half the season still to be played.
However, the Cubs could also extend Happ and keep him around for the next competitive window. Happ seems open to that idea, saying “I’ve always been very clear, too, that I like playing here. This is a great place to play. I would love to be a part of competitive groups in years to come here.”
Some other notes from Central teams…
- The Royals are 26-43 and will have to decide which of their players will be moved as part of their deadline strategy. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that a Whit Merrifield trade is being given more consideration than in previous years. Merrifield has been the subject of trade rumors for a long time, as the club has been mired in a years-long rebuild for essentially his entire big league career. The Royals went 81-81 in 2016, Merrifield’s debut season, but have been below .500 ever since. Despite that, the club has eschewed all trade overtures in past seasons. It would certainly come as a shock if the team were to suddenly change course and agree to a deal now, as Merrifield is having easily the worst season of his career. Through 69 games, he’s hitting .230/.277/.314 for a wRC+ of 66. To spurn offers for years and then suddenly relent when his value is at a low ebb would be a very surprising turn of events. Perhaps the club is concerned that the 33-year-old won’t be able to turn things around, though there’s time for him to do so. His contract runs through next year, with a club option for 2024.
- The Cardinals announced that left-hander Genesis Cabrera is going on the injured list. No designation for his injury was given, implying that Cabrera has gone on the COVID-related IL. Righty Jake Woodford was recalled to take his place on the active roster. This is the second time COVID has hit the St. Louis bullpen in recent days, as T.J. McFarland also was sidelined earlier this week. Notably, both Cabrera and McFarland are southpaws, leaving the club short-handed on that side of their bullpen. There are two lefties now remaining, although Packy Naughton is more of a long relief option. That leaves Zack Thompson and his 14 2/3 innings of MLB experience as the club’s primary left-handed reliever. Cabrera has become a key asset for the club in recent years, notching 28 holds last year and 10 so far this year. He has a 2.27 ERA here in 2022, despite generating fewer strikeouts. His .193 BABIP and 93.1% strand rate are surely giving him an unsustainable boost, but he’s also lowered his walk rate to 9.3%. That’s still above league average, but much improved over his 12.1% career mark.
Salvador Perez Undergoes Thumb Surgery
5:25pm: Perez’s surgery was performed today, manager Mike Matheny tells reporters (Twitter link via Alec Lewis of The Athletic). Doctors expect he’ll need eight weeks to recover. Perez will also surely require a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the Royals. A return in late August or early September seems possible, based on the timeline provided by Matheny.
12:15pm: The Royals announced today that franchise catcher Salvador Pérez will undergo surgery to repair a ligament tear in his left thumb. He’s headed to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 21, but the club noted he’s expected back at some point this season. Outfielder Edward Olivares has been reinstated from the IL to take his spot on the active roster.
It’s the second time this season that Pérez heads to the IL because of problems with his left thumb. He lost 11 days in May with what the team called a thumb sprain but returned to play for a bit more than three weeks. The seven-time All-Star reaggravated the issue on Tuesday, and this time his recovery will require surgical repair. The team hasn’t specified a timetable beyond noting that Pérez should return in 2022, but he’ll certainly miss multiple weeks and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s eventually transferred to the 60-day IL.
This has been a down year for Pérez even when he’s been healthy enough to take the field. He’s hitting .211/.254/.426 through 236 plate appearances, well shy of the .284/.323/.561 mark he posted between 2020-21. Pérez has popped 11 home runs and posted a top-ten slugging figure for a catcher, but his on-base percentage ranks among the bottom 20 hitters leaguewide.
Last March, Pérez signed a four-year contract extension that took effect this season. He’s making $18MM this year, followed by successive $20MM salaries in 2023-24 and a $22MM mark in 2025. The deal also contains at least a $2MM buyout on a 2026 club option. The 32-year-old remains an integral part of the franchise’s future, and there’s little reason for the club to rush him back. The Royals enter play Friday with a 25-43 record that has them at the bottom of the AL Central.
While Pérez is out, highly-regarded rookie MJ Melendez will assume the bulk of the catching time. The 23-year-old entered this season among Baseball America’s top 50 overall prospects after a breakout 2021 showing in the upper minors. Melendez led all minor leaguers with 41 longballs between Double-A and Triple-A. He reached the majors last month and is off to a nice start, hitting .234/.333/.421 with an excellent 13.1% walk rate and a manageable 22.6% strikeout percentage through his first 43 games.
Melendez has seen time in right field and at designated hitter while sharing time with Pérez, but he figures to move to his typical catching position regularly now. Longtime K.C. backup Cam Gallagher is on the active roster as the #2 option, while Sebastian Rivero is on optional assignment to Triple-A Omaha as upper level depth.
Rays Acquire David McKay From Yankees For Cash Considerations
The Rays have acquired right-handed pitcher David McKay from the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations, per the Yankees. McKay will be added to the Rays’ 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Manuel Margot is going on the 60-day injured list, opening a slot for McKay.
McKay was recently designated for assignment by the Yankees as they made room for Albert Abreu, claimed off waivers from the Royals. As part of this deal, the Yankees announced that Abreu has been placed on the active roster. Right-hander Clarke Schmidt was optioned to Triple-A last night after the game, freeing up a spot on the active roster.
McKay actually spent spring training with the Rays, so he’ll be familiar with his new club. The 27-year-old made just two appearances for the Yankees, both scoreless innings. He has also appeared in his career with the Mariners and Tigers, totaling 28 2/3 innings over 28 appearances since 2019 with an overall 5.65 ERA/4.78 FIP.
For the Yankees, they’ll pick up some cash from a division rival while returning to a former prospect in Abreu. Still just 26, Abreu made seven appearances with the Rangers and another four with the Royals this season, and while he has posted a 3.46 ERA over those 13 innings, an 8.44 FIP belies some underlying issues with the overall body of work. Namely, Abreu has struggled from a lack of command, giving out 16 free passes in those 13 innings.
Yankees Claim Albert Abreu, Designate David McKay
2:06pm: The Yankees announced the claim of Abreu, adding that righty David McKay was designated for assignment to open a spot on the roster.
1:45pm: The Yankees have brought righty Albert Abreu back to the organization, claiming him off waivers from the Royals on Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided reports (via Twitter). They’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man move to accommodate Abreu, who was designated for assignment by Kansas City last week.
It’s been just over two months since the Yankees traded Abreu to the Rangers in the deal that brought catcher Jose Trevino to the Bronx. The swap has paid huge dividends for the Yanks, as Trevino has surprised with a .278/.336/.454 batting line through his first 119 plate appearances. He’s also provided excellent defense, as he was previously known for, and generally filled a major void for a Yankees team that otherwise did little to address its catching situation over the winter. New York picked up light-hitting Ben Rortvedt in the trade that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota, but he’s been sidelined all season due to injury.
Abreu’s time with the Rangers, meanwhile, proved to be brief. Although he posted a 3.12 ERA in his 8 2/3 innings with Texas, he also issued a staggering 12 walks and plunked a batter. The Rangers understandably weren’t enthused with that alarming lack of command and wound up designating Abreu for assignment and trading him to the Royals. He pitched just 4 1/3 innings for Kansas City and wound up with another four walks and a hit batter before being designated for assignment.
Abreu, 26, has long drawn positive scouting grades for a plus fastball and a pair of above-average secondary offerings (changeup, slider). Command has always been his Achilles heel, however, as evidenced by his perennially lofty walk rates in the minors. He’s out of minor league options, so the Yankees will tuck him back into the big league relief corps for now in hopes of again working with him to harness his command of the strike zone.
As for the 27-year-old McKay, he pitched in just two games with the Yankees, hurling two scoreless innings in the process. Like Abreu, he’s been far too prone to issuing walks at the MLB level, however; in 28 2/3 innings between the Mariners, Tigers and Yankees, McKay has walked 20 of the 127 batters he’s faced (15.7%). McKay has whiffed 34.4% of his career opponents in Triple-A, which surely intrigues some clubs, but his command issues have prevented him from finding any sustained MLB success. The Yankees will have a week to trade him release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Trade Candidate: Michael A. Taylor
At the end of September last year, as the season was winding down, Michael A. Taylor was about a week away from hitting free agency. The Royals, however, were determined to prevent that from happening and gave him a $9MM extension that would keep him around for another two years.
Taylor has never really done too much with his bat, finishing the 2021 season with a career batting line of .239/.293/.386 for a wRC+ of just 79. But the Royals were surely motivated to lock him up because of his tremendous defense. Taylor ended up finishing first among MLB center fielders in the Fielding Bible’s voting for 2021. His 15 Outs Above Average last year were the second-most in all of baseball, trailing only Manuel Margot‘s 16. His 19 Defensive Runs Saved were also second in the league, trailing only the 20 racked up by Carlos Correa. His 13.3 Ultimate Zone Rating was easily the best, well ahead of Matt Chapman‘s 8.7.
Kansas City making defense a priority made sense for a couple of reasons. First, the spacious confines of Kauffman Stadium make it so that defense is always important for the team. Secondly, the rebuilding club was set to feature a number of young and inexperienced pitchers, making any extra outs very important for building confidence and limiting workloads.
However, Taylor has bucked his career trends in a couple of ways here in 2022. For one thing, he’s having easily the best year of his career in terms of his bat. Through 47 games, he’s got an 11.2% walk rate, a great improvement over his 7% career mark. Similarly, he’s striking out in 22.4% of his plate appearances, well below his 29.9% career rate. That’s helped him produce a batting line of .272/.355/.401, which amounts to a wRC+ of 119. Prior to this year, Taylor’s wRC+ has been 80 or below in every season except for a 104 back in 2017.
But on the other hand, his defense doesn’t seem to be quite as elite as last year, at least in the eyes of the advanced metrics. OAA currently has him at 1 for the season, DRS at 3 and UZR at -0.2. Defensive metrics are notoriously fickle, meaning it’s possible that this is just small sample noise. Though Taylor is also 31 years old now, making it possible that 2021 was a peak that he’s started to come down from.
The Royals have a record of 23-42, one of the worst in the league, lining them up to be clear sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Taylor doesn’t absolutely have to be traded since his contract goes through 2023. The Royals could keep him around for another year and hope that they have better luck next year in their attempts to transition from rebuilding to contending. But there’s also an argument to be made that Taylor’s value is at its peak. He’s never been hitting anywhere near this level before and there’s a chance his excellent defensive skills have started to wane.
There’s also the possibility that two months of improved results with the bat won’t compel any team to part with significant prospects that would entice the Royals to pull a trigger on a trade. But then again, teams in search of help in center field don’t have a lot of options. Cedric Mullins and Bryan Reynolds have been constantly in trade rumors over the past year, but their respective teams have apparently been steadfast in maintaining high asking prices in any trade discussions. The Marlins have reportedly been making a strong push for Ramon Laureano, but without successfully getting the A’s to budge thus far. There aren’t many options beyond that group that are both exciting and available.
Coupled with that low supply is strong demand. The Marlins have been trying to upgrade in center field for a long time but without finding a deal to their liking. The Brewers just cut ties with Lorenzo Cain, leaving them with Tyrone Taylor and Jonathan Davis as their center field tandem. Cody Bellinger has rebounded from his nightmare 2021 but is still having a below-average season at the plate. The Astros and Phillies are getting okay results this year from Chas McCormick and Odubel Herrera, respectively, but could still look to supplement there. Perhaps the Yankees will look to bump Aaron Judge back into a corner outfield role to reduce his daily wear and tear. There’s also the possibility some team that doesn’t strictly need a center fielder just wants one to give their regular outfielders some occasional down time.
The Royals will have a decision to make between now and the August 2 trade deadline. Do they hang onto Taylor for another year or try to cash him in for some prospects while his value is high? Even if they lean towards the former option, it’s possible that the market forces push some team into making them an offer that makes them change their mind.
Royals Announce Four Roster Moves
The Royals reinstated right-hander right-hander Matt Peacock and left-hander Gabe Speier from the injured list. In corresponding moves, right-hander Albert Abreu was designated for assignment, and righty Arodys Vizcaino was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.
Kansas City acquired Abreu from the Rangers just two weeks ago, but he loses his roster spot after four appearances. He only allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings with K.C., but he also issued four walks and only fanned three batters. Abreu also had more walks than strikeouts (12:9) during his early-season stint in Texas, and those control woes have pushed him off two rosters.
Abreu can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, so teams have to either keep him on the active roster or designate him for assignment. That status has squeezed the hard-throwing reliever off both the Yankees’ and Rangers’ rosters recently, but he’s drawn the attention of rival clubs both times. Kansas City will now have a week to try to work out another trade or see if he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed.
Vizacino signed a minor league deal over the offseason and made it back to the majors in late May after posting a 1.76 ERA through 15 1/3 frames in Omaha. The former Brave appeared in seven games, tossing 5 2/3 frames of four-run ball. He issued seven free passes and struck out just three hitters, however, and he’ll lose his 40-man roster spot as a result. Having already cleared outright waivers, Vizcaino will have the right to elect minor league free agency and look for opportunities elsewhere if he doesn’t want to rejoin the Storm Chasers.