KC Royals: Jose Martinez Trade Makes Perfect Sense

The KC Royals traded outfielder Jose Martinez to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations. The outfield is overcrowded in both Omaha and Kansas City and Martinez was the odd man out.

In 37 games at Triple A Omaha, Jose Martinez slashed .298/.356/.433 this season, which are okay numbers for the outfielder. Last year, his numbers were even better with a slash line of .384/.461/.563 with ten home runs for the Storm Chasers. He finished second in batting average last year in the minors.

The Royals have traded OF Jose Martinez to the Cardinals for cash considerations. Martinez was DFA'd last week.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) May 25, 2016

This season, Martinez has struck out a bit more accumulating 24 strike outs in 160 plate appearances. He struck out 55 times in 396 plate appearances last season.

Martinez turns 28 on July 25th and therefore is no longer a young prospect. The Kansas City Royals might think he has hit his ceiling and with the depth in the outfield they were willing to trade him to in-state rival St. Louis.

Whit Merrifield got the call up last week and has helped the KC Royals succeed with his versatility being able to play all infield and outfield positions.

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He’s also helped the team with his bat in the line up. Tuesday in Minnesota, Merrifield collected two doubles for the boys in blue while also playing a solid second base.

The other options in the outfield at Omaha are Jorge Bonifacio, Brett Eibner, Reymond Fuentes and veteran Travis Snider.

Bonifacio slashed .313/.375/.524 in 43 games for Omaha this season. He’s got a few strikeouts, 46, in 186 plate appearances. His defense has been an issue. He has four errors this season, two in left field and two in right field for a fielding percentage of .952.

Brett Eibner has been hitting the last couple of seasons. Last season his batting average increased by 62 points to .303. This season in 41 games played, Eibner has a slash line of .309/.411/.537 for the Storm Chasers.

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In 17 games played, six with the big league team, Fuentes has a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 with one assist.

Veteran Travis Snider‘s been doing okay for Omaha. He has slashed .271/.379/.373 this season, but has big league experience, which could help out in the long run. He has played for Toronto, Pittsburgh and Baltimore over eight seasons.

Snider was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2008 14th overall and since then, it has been a struggle to stay in the league. He has made some highlight reel plays but not consistent enough to warrant a big league roster spot.

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With all the talent that the Kansas City Royals have in the outfield at Omaha, they could afford to deal Martinez. Now we wait to see what the front office uses the cash on.

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