Is Joakim Soria on the Trade Block? (AP Photo)

You’ve probably heard the news that some teams have inquired about the availability of Joakim Soria.  Most recently, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox have expressed an interest, there are rumors about the Angels, and there may be others we don’t know about.  It’s obvious the Royals are shopping him around and if you’re like me, you’re both excited and highly concerned about what the Royals might receive in return for him if they pull the trigger on a trade.

While Soria is not yet a candidate for the Hall of Fame, he is arguably one of the top ten Rule 5 draft picks of all-time, he owns career marks of 2.40 ERA / 181 ERA+, 9.7 K/9, 1.043 WHIP (these numbers aren’t from his best season, I’m talking about his entire five year major league career), he averages 37 saves per season, he is a two time All-Star and his name has appeared on Cy Young and MVP ballots.  In other words, he’s pretty stinkin’ good.  Would the Royals seriously consider trading a young, successful pitcher whose best days may still be ahead of him?  Believe it or not, there is precedent for the Royals to do just that. (more…)

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By many accounts Wil Myers is the best prospect the Royals currently have in their farm system.  Assuming that Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas will both lose prospect status with their time in the majors, Myers becomes the leader of the bevy of young talent the Royals have.  Myers was a special talent coming out of high school and projects to be a special talent at all levels going forward.  He got off to a slow start this year and battled some injuries, but he has picked it up in May and June and looks to be getting things back on track.  His season numbers are not that impressive but that is mostly due to a poor April that saw him only hit .261 at the plate as the battled knee injuries and finally sat out a couple of weeks to get things right.  He has looked more like the top 10 prospect we all thought he was going in to the season since returning from injury.

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