Kansas City Royals: Homer Bailey becoming trade bait

The Kansas City Royals brought Homer Bailey in over the offseason to serve as a mentor to the young pitchers on the team. What started off as a rough go of it for the 13-year pro has turned into some respectable outings.

Kansas City Royals fans didn’t think much of the Homer Bailey signing this offseason, but the long-time Cincinnati Red has been pitching well lately. As a whole, Bailey has started 15 games and pitched 74.2 innings during that time while posting a 4.82 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. His record sits at 6-6 if you’re into that kind of thing.

When the month of June began, Bailey had an ugly ERA of 5.79. It ballooned to 6.05 after a shaky outing against the Rangers to kickoff the month. Since then, however, Bailey has been pretty good.

His last two outings in particular have been rock solid and could potentially make Homer Bailey a trade candidate if he keeps it up. That’s a big if obviously, but even keeping his ERA at a respectable number could make teams come calling.

More from Kansas City Royals

• This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
• The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
• DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
• 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
• LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!

In his last two starts, Bailey has been magnificent, twirling 13.2 scoreless innings while only allowing seven hits. He’s struck out 12 and walked just five batters during these two outings. Both times he threw over 100 pitches.

While it’s hard to get excited about two starts (especially for a 33 year old pitcher), the Royals aren’t playing for anything except the future. If Bailey can continue to churn out quality starts, teams will be interested in trading for him.

For one, he’s an experienced veteran with playoff experience, having pitched in the postseason for the Reds in 2010 and 2012. He was a much different pitcher back then, but he still knows what those moments are like and would be prepared for it.

A team could easily slot Bailey in as a number four starter if they’re struggling to find deep depth with their current rotation. He’s been an innings eater in his last two starts and hopefully he keeps that up and keeps improving his trade stock.

Bailey is also an affordable option to trade for. He’s only signed in Kansas City through this year, meaning whoever were to trade for him would be renting him for the 2019 season. He probably wouldn’t bring in more than one or two prospects (I’m leaning toward just one), but with the Royals needing all of the prospects they can get, they should gladly take a team up on that.

It’s great to see Homer Bailey figuring things out and if the Kansas City Royals can benefit from his recent productivity by trading him, then great! Bring on the trade inquires. Here’s to hoping Bailey keeps churning out quality starts.