KC Royals: Five trades that need to happen this winter
By Cody Rickman
With the offseason approaching, several talented teams will be busy addressing 40-man roster requirements. Here are trades that need to happen for the KC Royals to take advantage of those teams trimming down their rosters.
The New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Tampa Rays, and Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the 2020 offseason with loaded rosters and need to shed talent to add prospects in order to shield them from the Rule 5 draft. The Kansas City Royals are in a prime position to make moves to bolster their roster for 2020 and beyond.
Danny Duffy has about four starting appearances remaining for the Royals in 2019. His last outing vs the Orioles on 9/1/19 saw him generate consistent weak contact in 6.1 quality innings. Duffy will need to reproduce quality starts in his next four starts to generate some offseason trade value to prove he’s healthy and able to reach his potential.
The New York Yankees have absolutely been ravaged by injuries in 2019. Even with all of the Yankees injuries they were unable to find consistent playing time for outfielder Clint Frazier and RHP starter Jonathan Loaisiga. With an upcoming roster crunch on the 40-man roster for 2020 they may look to trade both of these players.
If the Royals decide to part ways with left fielder Alex Gordon this offseason, 25-year-old outfielder Clint Frazier would be an outstanding option to replace Gordon. Frazier hit .276/.326/.500 with 11 home runs for the Yankees in 2019.
24-year-old RHP starter Jonathan Loaisiga brings a potential number three type starter to the Royals pitching staff in dire need of consistent quality pitching. Loaisiga uses his arsenal of three quality pitches (96-mph fastball, 83-mph curveball, and 89-mph change-up) to generate a high rate of K’s. His inconsistency and walk-rate above 10% have prevented him from securing a starting rotation spot.
25-year-old RHP reliever Domingo Acevedo has been injured often the past several years, which led to the Yankees releasing him earlier this year to bring him back on a minor league contract. Acevedo may have a revival in the bullpen moving forward bringing less stress on his powerful arm (98-mph fastball).
Acevedo is eligible to become a minor league free-agent at the end of 2019, so if he isn’t included in any trades the Royals should pick him up as a minor league free-agent.