Could the Kansas City Royals actually be buyers at the deadline?
By Cody Rickman
Maikel Franco, Third Base
Maikel Franco is a rollercoaster type player – One minute you love his ability to drive the ball for an extra-base hit, the next you despise the fact he cannot make contact or get on-base. Franco’s “Jekyl and Hyde” routine at the plate carriers over into his defense at third base. He makes some fantastic plays at third, but lacks range and is ultimately a liability in the field.
Franco is having a breakthrough season according to baseballsavant.com with his barrel percentage (9.2%) and hard hit percentage (44.6%) being the best in his career. Franco has another year of arbitration available for 2021 before he is an unrestricted free agent.
The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting in second place in the NL Central with a 10-10 record and they currently do not have a viable threat at third base. Acquiring Maikel Franco makes sense for the Brewers if they intend to push for the playoffs.
Aaron Ashby is left-handed starting pitcher who has a solid four pitch mix that includes a plus slider, an above average fastball, an above average changeup, and average curveball. He is exceptionally tough on left-handed batters and has the ability to disrupt the hitters timing with the velocity differences between in his pitch mix. He is capable of being a number four type starter or high leverage type reliever if starting fails.
Ian Kennedy, Reliever and Greg Holland, Reliever
Ian Kennedy has struggled so far in 2020, but he looked fantastic in his two inning outing as the opener in the first game of the double-header on Saturday. Kennedy has a salary of $6,111,111 for the 2020 season and will be a free-agent for the 2021 season. His salary and early season struggles in high leverage situations make him a difficult move in these financially straining times.
Greg Holland has been an outstanding bargain free agent signing for the Royals during the 2020 season. He has filled in as reliable high leverage reliever for the Royals making 11 appearances with a 3.09 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, with 10 Ks in 11.2 innings.
The Chicago Cubs are the likely trade partner here for Ian Kennedy and Greg Holland. The Cubs are running away with the NL Central, but do not have much of a bullpen to close down games.
Riley Thompson has some exciting potential with borderline plus fastball that typically sits between 92-95 mph (topping at 97 mph), a borderline plus curveball, and slightly above-average changeup. His numbers in the low minors have been solid as he has started building up his innings after dealing with shoulder troubles in 2018.
Thompson has the ability to be a number four/five type starter if he continues to add velocity on his fastball and maintains his command.
Chris Clarke, standing at 6’7″, makes life difficult for hitters throwing from three quarters arm slot. He features an plus curveball, above average fastball, above average slider, and average changeup.
He was dominant in 2019 in short starts and needs to show he is healthy enough to handle a starters workload. If so, his stuff is nasty enough to be a mid-rotation type starter. As a reliever he could easily fill out a high-leverage role for the Royals.
Are the Kansas City Royals buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?
My gut tells me the Kansas City Royals should be sellers at the trade deadline. If the team has even a sniff of a playoff opportunity though with how well the bullpen has played so far, they may make a couple of moves to increase their chances.
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This is a very important week for the Kansas City Royals and it will determine how they proceed with their roster for the rest of the season. Anything less than 4 wins this week will push the Royals into a sell mode.