Kansas City Royals: Offseason trade targets from AL West
By Cody Rickman
The Kansas City Royals are in the position to explore the offseason trade market to address roster needs. In this five-part series, I explore possible trades with teams in the AL East, AL West, NL East, NL Central, and NL West.
Once the 2019 MLB playoffs are officially over, the Kansas City Royals will embark upon one of their busiest offseasons in recent memory. Since trades rarely happen within the same division, I will omit any possible trades with the AL Central in these series of posts.
Here are several links highlighting several offseason changes and moves the team should make:
Upcoming big changes in organization
Prospects ready for 2020 action
AL West Trade Targets
Houston Astros
Francis Martes, RHP Pitcher
Francis Martes, the soon to be 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, has been recovering from a UCL injury in 2018 and will have to serve an 80-game suspension for PED usage in 2020.
Martes, once a highly rated prospect, has struggled with command in his recovery efforts and with his 80-game suspension the Astros will be have to make a tough decision in whether to retain him on the roster and risk other MLB ready talent that needs to protect burgeoning talent on the 40-man roster.
Martes throws a 95+ mph fastball, a knee buckling 85-mph curveball (best pitch), and a 90-mph change-up. In his outings, he uses his fastball and curveball combination to generate weak contact and strikeouts.
The Royals have the roster room to add Martes and allow him to serve his suspension and refine his command. Martes could return to the starting rotation as a potential number two/three type starter if he finds his form (3.00 – 3.50 ERA).
Martes could also be a dominant reliever if his command and pitch arsenal don’t project success at the MLB level.
Possible trade offer: Cash Considerations