Royals Rumors: Royals Have Few Valuable Trading Chips

As the end of May draws near, Royals rumors should start heating up but will it just be speculation, or can Dayton Moore find a way to fill the holes on the roster?

The Kansas City Royals have some holes on the roster, most notably at second base, right field, and in the rotation, but do they have the trading chips to fill those spots via trades.

Last season, the Royals traded away some of their top minor league prospects to acquire Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. It worked because the team won its first World Series in thirty years, but the well may be dry.

Most of the talent at the top of the Royals’ minor league system seems to be borderline Major League talent at best. If the KC Royals don’t feel they can improve their roster with some of their prospects, do these players have any value in the market?

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Baseball America ranked the Royals organization in the bottom third in the majors in February. They dropped from number 13 in 2015 to 21st in 2016. That is a precipitous fall but expected after they traded the likes of Sean Manaea, Brandon Finnegan, and John Lamb last July.

The situation is even direr now. Baseball America’s top-ranked Kansas City prospect, Raul Mondesi, is serving a 50-game suspension and the second-ranked player, Kyle Zimmer, continues to battle injuries. Just how much value do they have?

Mondesi seems to be a true talent but he has more career strikeouts (421) than base hits (378) in the minors, and sports a career On Base Percentage of under .300 (.294) according to Baseball-Reference.

Since being drafted 2012, Zimmer only has 222.1 innings pitched, has started only 46 games, and has pitched in relief just 18 other games. His numbers are good when he does pitch, but he can’t stay on the mound.

Baseball America has Bubba Starling ranked third, but he has a career .241 average and has 118 more strikeouts (510) than hits (392) in 1,845 plate appearances. At 23 years old, it is looking more and more like Starling will be nothing more than a fifth outfielder type if he were ever to reach the majors.

Miguel Almonte is next on the list, but he hasn’t produced an ERA under 4.00 since 2013 in A-ball. He has nine games at the Major League level, with an ERA at 6.23.

Basically, other teams would have to value some of the Royals’ lower ranked prospects much higher or have their eye on some of the players in the lower levels. Regardless, none of these prospects aren’t valuable enough to bring in any difference makers in return.

If the Royals can find someone who wants to trade for Mondesi, Zimmer, Starling, or Almonte, they should jump all over it. Each of those players has a number of warts and it is questionable if any of them will ever make an impact at the Major League level.

So, as much as the Royals might like to acquire someone like Nick Markakis, or maybe one of the Yankees veteran outfielders, or any help at second base, or add someone for the rotation, they just don’t have the trading chips.

The KC Royals need someone from within their organization to step up and grab an opportunity to play, and to help the Major League ballclub.

Cheslor Cuthbert has held his own but Mike Moustakas is returning this weekend, and there is little indication he could be a big league second baseman. It would be very difficult for him to have to learn on the job and be effective.

We may see Whit Merrifield play a little at second, but he is not a top flight prospect. If he flourishes in the majors, that will be a surprise.

Brett Eibner might be a possibility for right field, though he is a late bloomer. In his first four years in the minors, he hit just .223. Over the past year-plus, he’s hit .302, all at AAA.

Jorge Bonifacio is also a candidate. Though only a .268 career hitter in the minors, he is batting .310 in AAA this season.

The Royals best hope for the rotation is for Danny Duffy and Dillon Gee to duplicate their successes from earlier in their careers. Duffy produced an ERA of 2.53, predominantly as a starter, in 2014, and Gee had an ERA of 3.62 in 2013.

If these two can rise to the occasion, and maybe Mike Minor can return to form sooner rather than later, then maybe the Royals can improve on their rotation ERA, which is 4.75, tenth in the American League, according to Fangraphs.

Next: 10 Facts All Royals Fans Should Know

So, let’s face the facts. No matter how many Kansas City Royals rumors start swirling around, it is unlikely they pull off anything more than a minor trade this summer.

The Royals will need players already in their organization to step up and prove themselves on the biggest stage if this team is going to repeat as American League Central champs.

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