KCKingdom
Fansided

Royals Rumors: Carlos Beltran Talk Happening

By Charles Lam

Jun 6, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran (36) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a go-ahead three-run home run against the Los Angeles Anglels during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the Angels 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 6, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran (36) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a go-ahead three-run home run against the Los Angeles Anglels during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the Angels 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Kansas City Royals may be buyers at the trade deadline. A player the Royals may have interest in is Carlos Beltran. He could help teams win but he won’t help the Royals.

Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran might be available and according to MLB Trade Rumors, the Royals are not on his no-trade list. Whether or not the team wants or needs their former Rookie of the Year is an another question altogether.

There are a few issues here. The Royals aren’t in need of another outfielder. The team has Lorenzo Cain, Paulo Orlando, Jarrod Dyson and Brett Eibner on the big league team. Outfielder Alex Gordon will be back this weekend as well.

Left fielder Alex Gordon should be playing for the Royals this Saturday. Having Gordon back is essentially like doing a trade without trading anyone.

The Royals have been without the former platinum glove winner for several weeks after his collision with Mike Moustakas in Chicago on May 22nd.

Beltran has a good stat line for a 39-year-old outfielder. He’s slashed .286/.323/.573 in 68 games this season. He’s accumulated 19 home runs, 14 doubles off 71 hits. He’s hit more home runs at home (12) than on the road (7). This might be a concern for the Royals.

More from KC Kingdom

New Yankee Stadium is a small ballpark. It’s not as hard to hit home runs there compared to Kauffman Stadium. Here’s a chart which shows how far Beltran’s home runs would have traveled at “the K”.

On the chart there are six balls that may not have been a home run at Kauffman Stadium. That’s about  a third of his home runs that would not have counted.

Beltran’s speed doesn’t translate well for the Royals style of baseball on defense or base running. He might be faster than current designated hitter Kendrys Morales but probably not by much.

The only spot Beltran could play for the Royals is designated hitter (DH). The DH spot is currently filled by Kendrys Morales.

Morales started off the year extremely slow batting under .200. On May 29th, he slashed .185/.253/.310. Since then he’s got much better. His current slash line is .225/.294/.369.

In the last 28 games, Morales has slashed .314/.400/.500. Far exceeding the previous month and a half. He may have turned the corner right before it was too late.

Beltran might have the better stats right now but the two players are somewhat similar. No speed and close to zero on defense. Beltran has a negative 11 defensive runs saved statistic in right field this season. That won’t play at “the K”. Morales played a decent first base for the Royals once this season.

Next: KC Royals: Ten Facts Fans Should Know

With the abundance of outfielders and the emergence of Kendrys Morales’ offense at designated hitter, I don’t see a need for the Royals to acquire Carlos Beltran. He is too slow as a base runner and a fielder which gives him almost zero versatility for the Royals.

Morales is starting to look more like the Silver Slugger of 2015 meaning there are no spots to put Beltran. It’s time to stop these Royals rumors.

Home/Royals Rumors