Mike Aviles Traded for Yamaico Navarro and Kendal Volz

Not all trades are blockbusters.

The Royals traded infielder Mike Aviles to the Boston Red Sox this afternoon for infielder Yamaico Navarro and minor league pitcher Kendal Volz.

Aviles had struggled for most of 2011 with a few hot weeks.  He was sent to Omaha with the promotion of Mike Moustakas and hit well enough to return when Wilson Betemit was traded last week.  As a Royal, he hit .286/.317/.417 in 1218 plate appearances in the big leagues with the Royals while playing second base, shortstop and third base.  He was the Royals player of the year in 2008 after hitting .325/.354/.480 and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

He had recently expressed disappointment in being shuffled into a utility role with the Royals since coming back from the minor leagues.

In return, the Royals get Yamaico Navarro, a 23-year-old infielder who entered 2011 as Boston’s #12 prospect according to Baseball America.  He has some power for playing primarily at shortstop, but has versatility to play second or third, too.  He’ll join the big league team in Cleveland.  In the Royals series against the Red Sox, Navarro went 3-9 and walked once in three of the four games.

Volz is a 6’5″ 225 pound right-handed pitcher who the Red Sox drafted out of Baylor in 2009.  He started 24 of 26 games in Low A Greenville in 2010 with a 3.71 ERA but has yet to start a game in 2011, making 31 relief appearances.

He profiles as a middle inning reliever with a fastball ranging from 88-91 mph and a developing slider that could be a good out pitch.  The Red Sox moved him into the bullpen to take advantage of his two-pitch repertoire.

The Royals and Red Sox made a deal that sends a (sort of) veteran with multiple position ability (sort of) to Boston for their playoff run for two young pieces.  Navarro has similar skills to Aviles and may get on base better with similar pop.  He has to be a better fielder, as Aviles was never a threat to win a Gold Glove.  Navarro can be a utility guy behind Moustakas, Alcides Escobar and Chris Getz (and Johnny Giavotella when his time comes) and can even spell an outfielder if necessary.  It’s a good deal for the Royals, especially since Aviles was on the outs with the organization anyway and they got a younger player with similar skills who could develop them into better abilities than Aviles ever did.

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