Royals Rumors: Trade season officially underway after Homer Bailey trade
Welcome to Royals rumors season, folks! Homer Bailey was scratched from his Sunday afternoon start and was traded to Oakland in exchange for Kevin Merrell.
Well, trade season is underway for the Kansas City Royals and it got jump started with a trade of Homer Bailey to the Oakland Athletics. In exchange, the Royals received 2017 first round pick Kevin Merrell, who to this point hasn’t been doing a whole lot in the minor leagues.
Before we dive more into Merrell and what he could provide, let’s look at the Bailey trade and what it means.
We all knew the Royals would be sellers at the deadline. If you didn’t think that, you’re one of the most optimistic people out there. The problem was that no one was really looking like a tradable piece, but Bailey getting shipped off made the most sense.
While Bailey’s 4.80 ERA and 1.41 WHIP weren’t the most attractive stats in the world, he was on a tear for awhile where he had under a 1.00 ERA in those starts and was grinding. Those streak of performances put Bailey on teams’ radars and now he’ll be taking his talents to the bay area and helping the Athletics get back to the postseason this fall.
Starter Homer Bailey has been traded to Oakland from Kansas City, sources tell ESPN. He's making the minimum, so the A's will pay him only $250,000 or so for the remainder of the season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 14, 2019
Now, let’s look at Kevin Merrell and what he could bring to the Kansas City Royals moving forward.
Kevin Merrell, the prospect the Royals got in the Homer Bailey trade, could someday transition into a super-utility role in the big leagues, according to one rival scout. Has speed and athleticism. Good fit for the Royals, he said.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) July 14, 2019
As Jeffrey Flanagan noted in the tweet above, Merrell is quick and has the ability to be a utility man. The A’s took him 33rd overall out of South Florida just two years ago after Merrell hit .384 with the Bulls in the 2017 season.
His collegiate production hasn’t carried over to the minor leagues so far, as he was slashing .246/.292/.339 with two home runs and 34 RBI while also stealing 13 bases for Oakland’s AA squad. He’s not a power guy, but the Royals aren’t really a power team anyway.
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It’s good to see the Royals rumors already getting underway. With Bailey performing well recently, it was smart for the Royals to see what they could get for him while he was still posting somewhat decent numbers.
Considering Bailey wasn’t a sure thing to even make the Royals roster out of Spring Training, this is a good trade for Kansas City. Merrell fits the mold of what this organization look for in prospects and Bailey was never going to be a part of the rebuild other than what he could provide this year.
With one trade already official, don’t expect the Royals to stop now. Guys like Jake Diekman, Danny Duffy, Billy Hamilton, Ian Kennedy, Martin Maldonado, Whit Merrifield, and others will be discussed as potential trade bait over the coming weeks, with the guys on one-year deals more likely to be shipped off elsewhere.
Bailey being the first to go isn’t shocking. He was on a one-year deal, had been performing well as of late, and can provide a solid three or four starter down the stretch for the Athletics, who will look to battle with the Astros for the American League West title. They’ll also be pushing heavily for a Wild Card spot, and Bailey hopefully can help them with their goals.
Next. Five Trade Scenarios for 2019. dark
What do you think of this trade, Royals fans?