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Kansas City Royals: Billy Burns Trade

By tdierking

May 31, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder Billy Burns (1) high fives teammates after scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 31, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder Billy Burns (1) high fives teammates after scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas City Royals acquired outfielder Billy Burns from the Oakland, sending outfielder Brett Eibner to the A’s. Does this move make a difference for the Royals this year and in the future?

I wrote a piece back in early July about how the Royals would be very quiet during the Trade Deadline, making little to no moves this year. Although I was right, I was still disappointed because of all the excitement the Kansas City Royals were apart of this year.

The struggling Royals were mentioned in a Wade Davis trade circle; as well as Edinson Volquez, Luke Hochevar and Kendrys Morales. The main reason most of these players were brought up in trade rumors was not because they were doing amazing but rather because they will most likely not be on the team next year. The Royals should have cashed in on these players.

When these names came up I got excited thinking of what the possible return could be. Re-stock the farm system with young pitchers? Maybe get a second base prospect? Perhaps some bullpen assistance? Then news broke that the Kansas City Royals made a trade.

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I was excited, trying to guess which player they had traded away. When news broke that the Royals had traded for Billy Burns, I have to admit, I was less than impressed. When I heard what they traded Brett Eibner for Burns I was surprised.

Let’s do a blind numbers game. Mystery player number one. This player has a career slash of .254/.320/.345, an OPS of .665, seven career home runs, and averages around 23 stolen bases a year. Now for mystery player number two. This player has a career slash of .273/.311/.360, an OPS of .671, five career home runs, and averages around 14 stolen bases a year.

When you look at the numbers, they look like they are practically the same player, right? Can you guess who is mystery player one and two?

Jarrod Dyson is mystery player number one and Billy Burns is mystery player number two. The Royals traded for a cheaper, longer team controlled, 26 year old Jarrod Dyson 2.0 when they traded for Billy Burns. Unfortunately, Dyson has not exactly worked out for the Royals, other than accumulating 162 stolen bases in 190 attempts (85% success rating).

Throughout Dyson’s seven year career with the Royals, fans have always been told that “next year is Dyson’s year” to win a starting spot with the team. However, every year he eventually gets demoted to being the fourth outfielder and sometimes even fifth outfielder.

This year, Dyson was supposed to be the the starting right fielder for the Royals, now the job officially belongs to Paulo Orlando. Dyson is yet again demoted to being the fourth outfielder. So is a Dyson 2.0 going to be any different?

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24 year old Billy Burns broke into the league back in 2014, where he appeared in 13 games. The next year Burns seemed to be ready for the spot light. In 125 games in 2015, Burns hit .294/.334/.392 with five home runs and 26 stolen bases on 34 attempts. He would finish the year 5th in the Rookie of the Year voting.

2016 would bring a different story for Burns, however. Before getting optioned to AAA on July 15th, Burns was hitting .234/.270/.303 with 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts. Less then impressive compared to his rookie year.

So what makes Burns a player the Royals want? Well, for one thing he is extremely cheap. Currently he is making $512,500 and will be making similar to that during the 2017 season. Burns is eligible for arbitration in 2018, and will be under contract till 2021. If this is Dyson 2.0 then Dyson himself might be finding a new team here soon.

When asked why the Royals made this trade, Royals beat writer Jeffery Flanagan tweeted out,

“For those wondering about Eibner, keep in mind Bonifiacio is younger and on the rise, and Dozier may be switched to OF. No room. #Royals”.

My only problem with that explanation is it really doesn’t explain anything.

To say that the outfield is full with Eibner being on the Royals, how does trading for an outfielder in Billy Burns now make room? It would later come out that last year Ben Zobrist told Ned Yost and Dayton Moore that if they had a chance to trade for Burns. they should do it. Personally, I find it ironic that a year later Billy Burns has been traded to the Kansas City Royals.

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Burns has played in 12 AAA games, hitting .283/.313/.304 with four stolen bases. Burns just might be the future center fielder for the Royals when Lorenzo Cain is no longer with the team, but then again we have heard the same thing when it comes to Dyson. Here is to hoping that Dayton Moore made the correct choice when trading away a potential power hitting Eibner, for Burns (AKA – Dyson 2.0).

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