KCKingdom
Fansided

Royals Rumors: Billy Hamilton won’t bring back much in return

By Leigh Oleszczak

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 16: Billy Hamilton #6 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the Minnesota Twins on June 16, 2019 at the Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Royals defeated the Twins 8-6. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 16: Billy Hamilton #6 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the Minnesota Twins on June 16, 2019 at the Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Royals defeated the Twins 8-6. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Royals rumors season is about over as we approach the trade deadline, but one more player on a one-year deal remains with the Kansas City Royals. That player is Billy Hamilton.

While Billy Hamilton won’t command much on the trade market, the Kansas City Royals are still looking to shop him (as they should). Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com wrote an article on how the Royals are looking to move Hamilton, but that the return won’t be great.

"“There’s still a market for him,” one rival scout told MLB.com. “The return won’t be great, but he has value to a contender.”"

All of this appears to be true.

More from Royals Rumors

Hamilton, prior to Tuesday’s game against Toronto, is slashing a mere .211/.275/.264 with just 12 RBI in 261 at bats. Hamilton was mostly brought to Kansas City for this reason alone: to be traded.

He’s a great defender and has the speed to offer pinch running abilities in tight postseason games, but the Royals won’t get much for either of those aspects.

So far, they’ve brought in three prospects through three trades and also acquired Mike Montgomery from the Cubs. All three prospects have come from the Athletics, where the Royals sent Homer Bailey and Jake Diekman in separate deals. Coming back to Kansas City in those trades were Kevin Merrell, Ismael Aquino, and Dairon Blanco.

Hamilton might be worth one prospect from another team, but probably not a great one. The Royals might also get back cash instead, which is what they received from the Yankees in a trade for Terrance Gore.

While there are other tradable players on the Royals roster, Hamilton is the only one left on a one-year deal. One-year deal players are the easiest to flip at the deadline because they’re essentially rentals to the team that acquires them. Hamilton wouldn’t be expensive and he offers two important aspects during playoff games: defense and speed.

The Royals rumors surrounding Billy Hamilton have been scarce, but as the rival scout above was quoted as saying, there’s still a market for the Royals speedy outfielder. The return isn’t going to be much, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Next. Looking Back at Worst Deadline Deal in Royals History. dark

Despite all of the one-year deals issued out prior to the 2019 season, the Kansas City Royals haven’t done as much on the trade market as fans were anticipating. While that’s disappointing, hopefully the Royals get some value out of the three prospects they have acquired to this point.

Do you think Billy Hamilton gets traded before the deadline?

Home/Royals Rumors