Royals Rumors: Trevor Plouffe Signs With Oakland Athletics
The Royals rumors have been constantly swirling in the past few weeks, but one free agent who officially won’t be joining the Kansas City Royals is infielder Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe signed a three-year deal with the Oakland Athletics.
Another free agent is off the board and it just happens to be a guy who the Kansas City Royals were linked to this past week. That guy is Trevor Plouffe, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Minnesota Twins.
Plouffe opted to sign a three-year deal with the Oakland Athletics, and that means that the KC Royals will likely keep Eric Hosmer for the 2017 season now.
That news shouldn’t sadden Royals fans, but Mike Moustakas could still be on the trading block. The reason why Hosmer is safe is because Plouffe spent time at first base and third base while the Royals other free agent interest Aaron Hill, only spent time at second and third.
Plouffe wasn’t a great hitter during his time in Minnesota, with his .260 batting average in 2016 being the highest in his entire major league career. I’m not too devastated by the Royals not signing Plouffe, but that still doesn’t mean that the team isn’t going to make moves.
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Plouffe, a first round pick in 2004, underperformed as a member of the Twins and really wouldn’t have added much to this Royals team. I’d much rather see the KC Royals continue to have Moustakas at third base because at least Royals fans know what they have with Moose. Plouffe would be an unproven guy in the organization with some big shoes to fill.
Now the storyline to watch will be where Aaron Hill signs. If he comes to Kansas City, then Moose could still be relocating before spring training begins. If Hill signs elsewhere, then the Royals very well could head into the 2017 season with both Moustakas and Eric Hosmer on their roster.
Lorenzo Cain was said to be in the trade discussion as well (which was discussed in the Hosmer and Moose trade article that I linked above), but with Jarrod Dyson being moved last week, I don’t see Cain not being a Royal in 2017.
It’s going to be an interesting few months leading up to the start of the season when it comes to Royals rumors.
The Royals have a lot of impending free agents and might decide they want to get something in return for them now, especially if they don’t think there’s a chance they’ll be able to retain them after this season concludes.
At the end of the day, Trevor Plouffe signing with Oakland isn’t a loss at all, but it could mean some important dominos fall in the next few days.
Stay tuned, Royals nation.