Royals Rumors: MLB.com proposes blockbuster deal with Yankees

We’ve reached only the beginning of Royals rumors, with the latest being a proposed blockbuster deal between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees.

With the trade deadline approaching next week, the Royals rumors are going to continue to swirl. An interesting blockbuster trade idea came via Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, who flirted with the idea of the Kansas City Royals sending Danny Duffy, Trevor Rosenthal, and Josh Staumont to the Yankees in exchange for Miguel Andujar and Nick Nelson.

Blockbuster deal indeed, as the Royals would be sending three pitchers to the Bronx in exchange for a bat and another pitcher.

Per Castrovince,

"Position players whose value primarily resides in their bat have lost polish in the trade market, and Andújar’s struggles in a small sample in 2020 haven’t helped his stock. But with the rebuilding Royals, he has the potential to be a genuine building block, while Nelson, the Yankees’ No. 17 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is another controllable asset who can also contribute at the big league level immediately."

I don’t like this deal at all, but it’s not because of what the Royals would be giving up per say. If they’re going to give the Yankees two of their best relievers, especially one as promising as Staumont, then they’d need more in return.

Also, the Royals are fine in the pitching department – It’s bats that they need. So, if they were to trade these three pitchers to New York, they’d better be getting more than one promising bat in return.

Andujar is a third baseman for the Yankees and is struggling mightily this season, batting just .095 as of this writing. As Castrovince mentions, he could be a building block for the boys in blue, but if nothing else, the Royals can put Hunter Dozier back at third base once Maikel Franco hits free agency this offseason, so third base isn’t something they desperately need to address.

This is a bold prediction, yes and is doubtful to happen, but if the Royals were going to give away two of their best relievers and their long-time starting pitcher, they need more in return than a third baseman hitting below the Mendoza line and a pitcher with an ERA over seven.

If the Royals were to do this trade, they’d be getting fleeced very badly by the Yankees. They need to hold onto Rosenthal and Staumont until an absolutely insane deal is offered to them.

What do you think, Royals fans? Is this deal one you think could ultimately pay dividends to the Kansas City Royals?