Royals Rumors: Heyman Suggests Jon Jay
By Charles Lam
The Kansas City Royals rumors machine is in fully working order. The Royals might be in the market for outfield assistance. A trade could solidify right field.
Insider for MLB Network, Jon Heyman, suggested that the Kansas City Royals may want to trade for outfielder Jon Jay.
Jay comes from the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. He played parts of six seasons for the Cardinals then got traded to the San Diego Padres for Jedd Gyorko in December.
Jay had five good season with St.Louis and one bad season. During his first five seasons, his worst batting average was a .276 in 2013. His best season came during the 2012 season when he slashed .305/.373/.400 in 117 games.
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He had a bad 2015 season. In 79 games with the Cardinals, Jay slashed .210/.306/.257. Those numbers are by far the worst in his career. The good news is Jay got it going again in San Diego. He’s slashed .296/.345/.407 with the Padres this season.
Jay has extra base pop as well. He’s got 80 hits for 24 doubles and two home runs. He has a history hitting the ball consistently. He’s the type of player the Kansas City Royals would love to have.
He plays a solid outfield as well. He has four outfield assists and one error this year for the Padres. He doesn’t have the best defense but his consistent bat will out weigh his defensive issues.
He’s faster and much younger than other guys being rumored to Kansas City like Carlos Beltran. He’s a more consistent hitter than his teammate Melvin Upton.
I don’t think the Kansas City Royals should be actively searching for an outfielder. The Royals have Paulo Orlando, Jarrod Dyson, Brett Eibner and Whit Merrifield who can all play right field. I won’t mind Jay putting on Royal blue and helping Kansas City win but I don’t want to have to give up players for him.
Dyson and Jay are the same age at 31-years-old. Orlando is 30-years-old and Merrifield and Eibner are both 27-years-old. Don’t forget the other outfielders, Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain aren’t getting any younger at 32 and 30-years-old respectively.
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Having that many older players may help because of experience but could hurt the team due to availability if and when the player gets injured.
Jay received a bruise on his arm the other day and will likely miss a few games due to the injury. This shouldn’t affect his trade value if it’s nothing significant. X-rays came back negative, which means no broken bones in the arm.
Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas and Brett Eibner received injuries this season already for the Royals. It may or may not have been due to age but I’m sure that didn’t help them heal quicker. Thankfully all but one player will return for the Royals. Eibner is already back from a rehab assignment and Gordon will return to “the K” Saturday night.
I hope soon there will be Royals rumors about starting pitching upgrades for Kansas City. The Royals starting rotation hasn’t been solid this season. No starting pitcher except, Danny Duffy, has an earned run average under 4.00. Of those guys, the lowest walks hits innings pitched (WHIP) belongs to Ian Kennedy at 1.237. Unfortunately, Kennedy has given up 18 home runs. That’s good for second on the team by one behind Chris Young.
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The Kansas City Royals have a few holes in the current team. An outfield upgrade would be nice but a starting pitcher would be even better. I think the Royals should trade for a consistent starting pitcher who can pitch well on the road instead of looking for another outfielder. Hopefully Royals rumors about pitchers comes to fruition soon.