Kansas City Royals: Trading Whit Merrifield to Mariners could be an option
The Kansas City Royals finally found themselves a second baseman in Whit Merrifield, but fans shouldn’t be surprised if he gets traded this season. The Mariners in particular could be a good fit.
The biggest reason as to why the Seattle Mariners would make sense as a trade partner for Whit Merrifield is because Robinson Cano was suspended 80 games for using furosemide. The suspension puts the Mariners in a tough spot because they now need a second baseman who can help them win games.
R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports wrote about some players that Seattle could trade for and Whit Merrifield of our very own Kansas City Royals made the list. Here’s what Anderson had to say about the two sides potentially agreeing on a trade,
"Merrifield may never have more trade value than he does at the moment — and it’s unlikely he’ll be a productive player when the Royals field their next competitive team. The catch is that the Royals have no reason to just give away Merrifield, and the Mariners don’t have much left on their farm with which to make a compelling offer."
Royals fans aren’t going to want to hear this because they LOVE Whit Merrifield, but let’s face it. R.J. Anderson is 100% right here.
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Merrifield is 29 years old and in only the third year of his major league career. We all love his story and how it took him until he was 27 years old to make it to the bigs, but his trade value is never going to be higher than it is right now.
Yes, the Royals have struggled to find a constant second base for the last decade plus, but there are answers in the farm system. Adalberto Mondesi is just waiting for his chance to get some at bats in the big leagues and the Royals also have Nicky Lopez in the minors who has the chance to be a star when his time comes.
If a good deal is offered to the Royals for Merrifield’s services, then they shouldn’t hesitate to take the deal and run with it. The problem is, as Anderson mentioned, Seattle has a weak farm system, so it’s unlikely that the Royals would get good value for trading one of their best players away.
So far during his time in the majors, Merrifield has an average slash line of .287/.329/.434 with 25 home runs and 123 RBI. He’s a special player, but with the Royals rebuilding and Whitley pushing 30, trading him sounds like a smarter idea with every game that passes.