Royals Rumors: Lance Lynn potential trade target for rotation
Royals rumors have two weeks left to surface and make headlines before the trade deadline comes to a close. The Royals need another arm for their rotation and could look to the other side of the state to address it.
This is a confusing time for teams, especially ones like the Kansas City Royals, who are currently sitting under .500 and have lost six of their last seven games. The Royals don’t have a whole lot of time to decide whether they’ll be buyers or sellers at the deadline, but if they do buy, they might be looking to the St. Louis Cardinals for a starting pitcher.
A lot of Royals fans aren’t fond of the Cardinals, but if they could get Lance Lynn from St. Louis in exchange for some prospects, I think everyone would be just fine with that move.
Lynn, who was first pegged to the Royals by Bob Nightengale in a Monday afternoon tweet (where he also linked them to Sonny Gray), would be a welcomed addition to the Royals rotation. He has an 8-6 record, 3.40 ERA, and 1.141 WHIP in 19 starts this season for St. Louis.
The #Astros still favorites for #A's Sonny Gray, but #Royals very aggressive on him, #STLCards Lance Lynn,others https://t.co/5LVAHVuRuK
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 17, 2017
Grant Brisbee of SB Nation put this potential trade into further perspective, diving into what each team gains from making said trade. Brisbee doesn’t seem to be in the camp of the Royals buying this deadline due to their lack of prospects and about to watch a bunch of key free agents walk away for greener pastures this offseason.
Brisbee did say, however, that Lynn would easily be a better rotation option than Jason Hammel and Ian Kennedy. No one is going to argue about the Hammel point, but Kennedy has been decent recently.
A rotation of Danny Duffy (number one), Jason Vargas (number two), Lance Lynn, and Ian Kennedy in the playoffs would be a pretty solid foursome if you ask me. Brisbee didn’t seem to think that it’d cost a big time prospect to land Lynn, as he’s an impending free agent come season’s end.
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The biggest question with this latest Royal rumor is that the Cardinals might not even be sellers just like the Royals might not end up being buyers. St. Louis is going to have to get extremely hot to win the National League Central, as the Brewers (of all teams) are leading the division at the moment and the Cubs are starting to heat up.
Unfortunately for St. Louis, their best shot at getting into the playoffs is by winning the division, as the freaking National League West has three of the best teams in the league at the moment with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies all raking. The Cardinals, like the Royals, are in a tough spot with this deadline and might not be looking to deal Lynn if they think there’s any chance they can contend.
If the Royals did add Lynn, they’d increase their chances of winning the division or at least getting to the postseason in 2017, but it doesn’t help them down the road at all. This is a tricky deadline and the Royals rumors are proving that to be true.
Would you want to see the Royals add Lance Lynn?