Kansas City Royals: Five more trade scenarios for 2019

With the All-Star Game now in the rear view mirror, the trade deadline is the next signpost in baseball’s Dog Days of Summer. For the Kansas City Royals, it’s time to make some moves.

Now, whether the Kansas City Royals are actually active at the trade deadline is an entirely different question. But for the sake of this column, let’s assume general manager Dayton Moore intends to trade off some pieces. Really, there’s no reason for him not to, especially regarding veterans who will walk after the season.

Now, of course, a GM doesn’t trade just to make a trade. Bearing that in mind, much like I did earlier in the season, I present in the coming pages some worthwhile trade scenarios.

This time, though, I’m including four guys who probably won’t be back with the Royals next season due to their contracts ending, and two players who could return multiple prospects. Only one of these players made the last article, and this trade scenario has him going to a team not at all discussed last time.

A number of contending ballclubs are in need of a left-handed reliever for the stretch as well as October. Right now, that prized southpaw looks to be the San Francisco Giants’ Will Smith. But there’s only one Will Smith, so at least six other teams are going to need to look elsewhere to fill that void.

Enter Jake Diekman.

Diekman’s numbers don’t come anywhere close to Smith’s, but Diekman is still a serviceable pitcher in short bursts as he’s striking out a career-high 13.1 batters per nine innings. As late as the end of May, Diekman’s ERA was 3.00.

Since then, while his ERA has shot up, he’s still managed to complete six holds while blowing only one save opportunity. Clearly, Diekman is a consolation prize, at best, for a team looking for a lefty reliever.

But the Minnesota Twins are one team that should be interested. The Twins, up 5.5 games on the Cleveland Indians in the Central in manager Rocco Baldelli’s first season, are poised to return to the post-season after a one-year hiatus. Adding a left-handed reliever to a staff that lacks one outside of closer Taylor Rogers and starter Martin Perez is imperative.

In return, the Royals receive Travis Blankenhorn, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound left-handed hitting second baseman currently playing for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Twins’ Double-A affiliate.

A third-round pick in 2015, has steadily progressed over four minor league seasons to the point where his career slash line is .259/.329/.435. This year, he’s knocked out 16 home runs for the Blue Wahoos as he holds a career-high .851 OPS.

Before this year’s draft, MLB Pipeline ranked Blankenhorn as the Twins’ number 28 prospect, noting that the Twins were still trying to locate the right position for him and stating he needed to “hit the reset button” after a dismal last season in the Florida State League.

Other Options

• The Tampa Bay Rays need a lefty and have multiple young shortstops in their system with whom they could part, including Jelfry Marte.
• Though currently injured, Milwaukee Brewers’ right-handed pitching prospect Bobby Wahl remains intriguing.
• And the St. Louis Cardinals, should they remain in the race, may part with 24-year-old Max Schrock, a second baseman currently in Triple-A.