Kansas City Royals: Early season trade scenarios for four players

In case you were wondering, no, the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians don’t often trade with one another. But that shouldn’t stop them from talking about the parameters of a deal that would send Royals right fielder Jorge Soler to the Tribe for a couple of almost-ready prospects.

Here are some reasons why such a deal makes sense for Cleveland:

• Soler is under club control until 2022.
• His salary, before he reaches arbitration in 2021, is a reasonable $4.67 million.
• Cleveland’s offense is below-average.
• The Indians are falling further behind the Minnesota Twins in the standings.

Looking at the outfielders on Cleveland’s roster is kind of grotesque. The team’s leading offensive talent among the outfielders on the roster is Jake Bauers, who’s slashing .246/.333/.381 with four home runs and 14 runs batted in.

Worse, the Indians are getting next to no help from their primary DH, 35-year-old Hanley Ramirez, who’s hitting .184/.298/.327 for a woebegone .625 OPS that is still better than lineup regulars Jose Ramirez (expect that to turn around) and Jason Kipnis (don’t expect that to turn around).

Meanwhile, Soler has hit ten home runs (four more than the Indians’ leader) and 12 doubles while driving in 27 runs. He’s slashing .259/.316/.525 for an .841 OPS, which is more than 50 points higher than that of Carlos Santana‘s, who leads Cleveland.

Going to Kansas City in this deal would be three players who should land in the Majors rather quickly. In fact, one, Oscar Mercado, just made his debut with the Indians. Only 24, MLB.com ranks him as the Indians’ number 16-ranked prospect, stating he’s a 45 overall on the 20 to 80 scale. Over at 2080 Baseball, they wrote this about him:

"He’s most valuable defensively, where the former shortstop’s reads and routes pair well with plus speed. Mercado’s solid-average arm allows him to move between all three outfield spots. Those wheels translate to the bases, as Mercado cracked 30 steals last year for the fourth consecutive season."

Chih-Wei Hu, a 25-year-old pitcher out of Taiwan, appeared in 11 games, all in relief, over 2017 and 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays before being dealt to Cleveland. Through seven years in the Minors, Hu has made 92 career starts, so he appears to be sort of a swing-man. According to 2080 Baseball, “Hu’s fastball sits in the low-90s and tops out at 94-95 mph in short-stints.” He also has a change-up, slider, and curve.

The headliner for the Royals, though, would be first baseman Bobby Bradley, a 23-year-old slugger taken by the Indians in the third round back in 2014. Since then, he’s clubbed 121 home runs while driving in 437 runs while slashing .254/.343/.495. After hitting only .224 across Double-A and Triple-A in 2018, this season in Triple-A, Bradley’s hitting .296 while posting a .560 slugging percentage.

For the Royals, all three of these players could step in from the first day acquired.