Kansas City Royals Have No Reason to Trade Alex Gordon

It is only four days into the regular season, and already there will be people making projections about later in the year and into next season. It seems that this is a byproduct of how everyone expects instant gratification these days, where the future is far more interesting than the present.

With that in mind, the excellent site MLBTradeRumors.com put together a post about players that not only could get the qualifying offer this offseason, but could be traded in the middle of the year as well. Naturally, the Kansas City Royals own Alex Gordon has made this list.

In a vacuum, it makes sense that Gordon would be named. If he was to decline his $12.5 Million player option for 2016, a price that would be far below his expected market value. However, there is no guarantee that Gordon would decline the option, as he has mentioned that he may pick it up in the past. Unless Gordon is truly interested in giving the Royals a home town discount, it seems difficult to fathom that he would potentially leave millions on the table.

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Going back to the initial sentiment of the post, it is only four days into the regular season. During those four games, the Kansas City Royals have gone 4-0, with their offense doing exactly what was hoped for. The Royals defense, which is bolstered by the Platinum Glove of Alex Gordon, has been the same force as it had been over the previous couple of seasons.

Likewise, the Royals expect to be in the playoff picture this season. Their offseason spending spree, which pushed the payroll over $110 Million for the first time in franchise history, certainly speaks volumes for the expectations of the team. Even though the Royals and Gordon have yet to discuss an extension, one would hope that such a conversation will happen at some point.

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Unless the Royals fall completely flat, the idea of trading Alex Gordon this season seems laughable. He is the face of the current franchise, the personification of the perseverance that resulted in the Royals as they have come to be known over the past two seasons. For a team that has been looking to find someone to replace George Brett as the Face of the Franchise for the past two decades, Gordon is exactly what the Kansas City Royals have needed.

Even if the Royals fall out of contention, that does not necessitate that a trade needs to be done either. The Royals could either extend the qualifying offer to net that coveted draft pick if he turns down the player option, or they could look to keep Gordon as a member of the Royals for the rest of his career. At only 31 years old, there is still plenty of solid baseball left in Gordon.

At some point, the conversation of whether or not it makes sense to trade Alex Gordon may reappear. But to discuss this not even a week into the regular season is far too soon.

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