Royals Rumors: Nick Markakis Might Fit A Need

The Royals and Nick Markakis have seemed like a fit for a while now. He could be available for trade and at least some Royals Rumors have him as a fit.

The Royals have had question marks surrounding right field all off-season. Things only got further complicated when Jarrod Dyson went down after his first Spring Training at-bat with an oblique strain.

Dyson is back in the Major Leagues now after a brief Minor League stint and had a good first night back with the Royals. He finished his night with a run scored, an RBI, and finished 2-4 at the dish. If he maintains production like that there’s no need to trade for anyone.

While he’s not likely to have an amazing season at the plate for the Royals, Dyson does offer up two things in which he is above average. He is a plus base runner. Okay, he’s a plus, plus base runner. He’s also really good in the outfield. He has a dWAR of 3.0 in the past two seasons alone.

There are many people, who in spite of what Dyson offers in terms of defense and on the bases, would prefer a right fielder who offers a little more at the plate. Nick Markakis could be that guy.

In an article that speculates which players could be on the move, Jim Duquette has the following to say about Nick Markakis:

"For teams in need of a top-of-the-lineup bat who plays hard and posts a .360-plus on-base percentage, Markakis could be their guy."

Duquette has both the Royals and the Orioles listed as potential trade partners with the Braves for the right fielder.

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Markakis is in the second year of a four-year $44 million dollar contract. That would appear to be a salary the Royals could get on board with for a player of Markakis’ caliber.

In spite of having neck surgery prior to the start of last season, he still managed to play in 156 games with a slash line of .296/.370/.376.

This year, Markakis is out to a great start with a slash line of .327/.421/.510. He’s got nine doubles in 16 hits and also has 12 RBIs. He’s got a bWAR of .7 so far this season which would be good enough to make him the second best position players for the Royals right now.

Markakis has -6.1 dWAR in his career but it’s hard to argue that he’d be a defensive liability. The former Orioles outfielder has two Gold Gloves to his credit, including one as recently as 2014.

The Braves are in full rebuild mode and the Royals have a history with the Atlanta Braves. It would likely take a couple of top prospects, but the Royals are in win-now mode in spite of the fact that they’d like to find a way to ‘keep everyone’.

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Markakis would be a good defensive player that doesn’t strikeout much and finds a way to get on base. The Royals had a guy like that in the two-hole of their lineup last season during the playoffs and it paid dividends. It does mean that the highest paid position player on the team, Alex Gordon, likely finds his way to the eight spot. He’s done some pretty magical stuff from there.

Well what do you think KC Royals’ fans? Is Nick Markakis a good fit for the Royals? Is it too soon to pursue a trade like this? Like most Royals rumors, is this just wishful thinking? Do you want to see if Dyson can hold down the fort in right field for a while? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.

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