Royals Rumors: Rotation doesn’t need Adam Wainwright in 2021

The latest Royals rumors consist of the team looking at Adam Wainwright.

Dayton Moore isn’t backing down this offseason. He’s brought in three new free agents this offseason while also re-signing reliever Greg Holland in the hopes that the Kansas City Royals can contend for a postseason spot in 2021.

Moore isn’t stopping there though, as he’s now interested in acquiring long-time St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, Adam Wainwright, who is 39 years old. The easiest connection here is that Wainwright pitched for Mike Matheny while he was the manager of the Cardinals.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network had the news first and noted that the Royals didn’t appear to be the front runner to land Wainwright’s services, but did make it a point to bring up Wainwright’s relationship with Matheny.

Royals rumors are hot this offseason and Adam Wainwright is the latest to be tied to Kansas City.

While I get the idea of wanting to have some veteran pitchers to help the young guys out, don’t the Royals have that already with Danny Duffy? The team has a lot of needs this offseason, but starting pitching really isn’t one of them.

Wainwright was impressive in the shortened 2020 season, throwing 65.2 innings through 10 starts and finishing the year with a 3.15 ERA. In the years prior to that, he had struggled, not having a good season since 2015 and he only pitched in 28 innings that year. This just doesn’t seem like a logical move for Kansas City, but it is a move they frequently make.

Throw in the fact that Wainwright is 39 years old and will turn 40 next summer and this is something that doesn’t make much sense right now for a young, rebuilding Royals squad. If they need a veteran to help motivate the young starters, let Duffy do it. He learned from James Shields “back in the day” and now he can pay it forward to the next group of youngsters.

Plus, the Royals’ rotation is mostly set. Duffy is going to be a starter along with ace Brad Keller and last year’s rookie talents Kris Bubic and Brady Singer. There are so many other prospects to consider giving the fifth spot to in 2021 and the Royals should go that route. If nothing else, they also have Mike Minor on the roster, though I’d prefer to see him in a reliever role.

Adam Wainwright has had an impressive career, there’s no debating that. He’s just not a fit for the Kansas City Royals in 2021.