Royals Rumors: Brad Hand perfect option for Royals bullpen

The Royals rumors have only just begun, but the best one that has circulated to this point is the Kansas City Royals showing interest in San Diego Padres reliever Brad Hand.

From 2014-2016, the Kansas City Royals bullpen was the best in the entire league. This season has been a bit of a different story, with Kelvin Herrera, Mike Minor, and Joakim Soria being the best arms out of the pen, but nowhere near the level that H-D-H was on.

Brad Hand is the recent name being linked to the Royals, per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. He’s also gaining interest from the Yankees, Nationals, Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, Angels, and Mariners, so the Royals are going to offer up something big if they want to land the lefty reliever.

If the Royals rumors are true and the team does trade for Brad Hand, the Royals bullpen could potentially get back to the level of dominance they experienced during their recent playoff run. He’d be a huge asset to this team.

Hand currently has a 2.30 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 47 innings pitched. He also has two saves on his 2017 resumé and is going to be one of the hottest names on the reliever market. Hand was San Diego’s lone representative in the 2017 All-Star Game and likely won’t come cheap, as he won’t be a free agent until 2020.

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In fact, the Padres and Dodgers have already been discussing a trade for Hand, and San Diego asked for LA’s top prospect Alex Verdugo, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports Network. If that’s the going rate, then the Kansas City Royals are probably not going to be in contention here.

There’s no doubt that the biggest need for the Royals midway through the season is a reliever and Brad Hand would fit that role perfectly. Not having many decent prospects or a lot of money to shell out, however, is going to be the biggest challenge for Dayton Moore and the Royals during this trade deadline.

The Royals also need a starting pitcher to fill the end of their rotation moving forward. Jaime Garcia is a name that has floated around the rumor mill as far as starters that the Royals might add and more will likely join that list soon.

With the Royals being in contention to win their division, there’s no doubt that they’ll become buyers. Affording some key trade pieces won’t be easy though, especially with a lack of minor league prospects and the fact that they’re strapped for cash.

Royals fans should trust Dayton Moore, but if he pulls off a deal for Brad Hand, I think most Royals fans would be a-okay with that.