Royals Rumors: Yankees might be interested in Mike Moustakas

With less than four weeks before the MLB non-waiver trade deadline, Royals rumors will start to heat up. The latest indicates the Yankees may have interest in Mike Moustakas.

Royals rumors are going to pick up in the upcoming weeks as this season has not gone well in Kansas City, even for a team in rebuild mode. The calendar has barely flipped to July, and the boys in blue are well out of any race but the one for the first pick in the draft next year.

The Kansas City Royals probably signed Mike Moustakas this offseason with the hope they could flip him sometime this summer. Now is the time.

Teams such as the Phillies and cross-state rival Cardinals might have a use for Moustakas down the stretch.

Now, according to Jon Paul Morosi, of MLB.com, the Yankees might be looking at acquiring Moustakas and playing him at first base.

"Multiple teams are interested in Moustakas as a first baseman, sources told MLB.com Thursday, and the Yankees are among the clubs that have considered trading for Moustakas and moving him across the diamond."

Moustakas started hot, hitting .302 with an OPS of .914 through April. He clobbered eight home runs in the first 28 games of the season.

In June, however, he has batted just .217 with an OPS of .665 and hit just four homers in 25 games.

His slump coincided with a team-wide offensive crash as the Royals have won only five of their last 30 games, scoring just 67 runs in that stretch.

For the season, Moustakas is slashing .258/.312/.472/.784. He has 16 home runs and 53 Runs Batted In. Even more positively, he has 25 walks already this season compared to just 34 all last year.

The Royals have even played him a couple of games at first base. WHile he hasn’t gotten enough chances there to earn an Ultimate Zone Rating or any Defensive Runs Scored, he also, didn’t make any errors either.

It shouldn’t be much of a challenge for an experienced infielder like Moustakas to move across the diamond to anchor first base.

Moustakas and his left-handed bat would surely bounce back in a lineup loaded with the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Yankees have won 56 games despite getting little production from their first basemen. Greg Bird has hit just .200, Neil Walker, .188, and Tyler Austin, .233.

The Yankees would also gt something else in Mike Moustakas – a player with 31 postseason games under his belt, including 12 World Series games. Moose is a player who has a championship ring and could provide valuable experience on the biggest of baseball stages.

The Yankees have a well-stocked farm system that could bring some valuable future pieces. In April, Call to the Pen ranked the Yankees system the fifth best in baseball. Bleacher Report ranked them second in all of baseball.

Must Read: It May Not Be Popular But Trading Salvy Makes Sense

While Moustakas won’t bring a premium, top of the line type prospect, he could still bring a player ranked in the 10 to 15 range from a deep system, plus a player or two that are further down the list.

The Yankees might be saving their top trading chips for help for their starting rotation.

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The Royals should be open to trading whatever valuable piece they have on their roster. It’s obvious the team is not going to be competitive for at least two more seasons, and more than likely, three or four.

Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy, and Whit Merrifield all could be playing in other uniforms by August. It will be sad to see but that is the business side of baseball, and in this case, it is the right thing for the Royals to do to rebuild this team to content in the future.

Fans should not consider these Royals rumors or trade talks negatively. It is what teams must do.

The Royals enjoyed two incredible years of World Series play, including a championship, and teams like the Royals just cannot afford to keep all their stars.

Trade your top players now to contend in the future. It can be tough to endure at times (say the past month, for instance), but hopefully, in three or four years, this will all make sense.

Royals rumors will probably persist over the next few weeks, and if some of the fan favorites are traded, like Moose, Salvy, Whit, and Duffy, it won’t be the end of the world but a stepping stone toward the future.

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