Royals Rumors: Retaining Whit Merrifield right move for now

Royals rumors aren’t over yet, but it appears that utility man Whit Merrifield won’t be traded. If the Kansas City Royals can’t get a decent haul of prospects in exchange for Merrifield’s services, then they SHOULD hold onto him.

Whit Merrifield is certainly one of the few exciting players to watch for the Kansas City Royals right now and despite having heavy interest on the trade market, it appears he won’t be going anywhere this year. Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com published a piece on Friday stating just that.

"Despite interest from multiple contenders — including the Cubs, Braves and Phillies — the Royals are informing clubs that they will keep Merrifield beyond next week’s Trade Deadline, one source told MLB.com Thursday.Merrifield’s initial price tag was set extraordinarily high. The Royals would’ve had to receive the type of Major League talent that contenders wouldn’t give up during the middle of the season.The Royals have no contractual incentive to move Merrifield, who is under team control through 2023, and the team’s front office values him highly as an organizational tone-setter, on and off the field."

There were pros and cons to the Royals rumors of trading Merrifield at the deadline and it looks like the Royals weighed their options and found more cons to trading their lone All-Star than pros. Obviously flipping their best player at the deadline wouldn’t sit well with some fans, but it’s also a move that shouldn’t have been made unless the team could receive multiple top prospects in return.

Yes, Merrifield is 30 years old and his value as a major league ball player likely won’t be higher than it is right now. Then again, it feels like Royals fans have been saying that for the last two years and Merrifield continues to improve at the plate, making it to his first All-Star game this season.

With Merrifield being on an affordable contract, even with the extension prior to the season, that lasts through 2023, it’s not hard to see why contenders would be interested in acquiring him. As Morosi mentioned above, however, those teams weren’t willing to break the bank (prospect wise, of course) to get Merrifield on their squad.

It’s understandable why the Kansas City Royals want to keep Whit Merrifield around. He’s on a cheap deal, is the team’s best hitter (or one of them anyway), can play multiple positions, and was the lone All-Star on this team this season. Fans adore him and he’s a top notch guy. Who wouldn’t want Whit Merrifield on their team?

As noted above, if a team was willing to trade multiple top prospects to the Royals for Merrifield, then it’d be foolish not to take that deal. A rebuilding team like the Royals will need all the help they can get.

If, however, teams aren’t willing to meet the asking price, then yes, the KC Royals should hang onto their coveted utility man. Whit Merrifield is under club control through 2023 and chances are that teams will still be eyeing him this time next year, even if he’s not batting over .300.

So while Royals fans might wonder why the organization is retaining Merrifield, they shouldn’t trade their best player away for peanuts. If a contender wants Whit Merrifield in their team’s uniform in October, then they need to pony up and offer multiple (at least three) top prospects.

Otherwise, no deal.