Royals Report: Four Things About Getting Swept In Cleveland

Jun 5, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) hits a sacrifice fly during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

1) Should The Royals Look For Help On The Trade Market?

The Kansas City Royals losing streak in Cleveland has brought this question back to the fore. The KC Royals were never going to keep putting up more than 10 hits per game over the long term, but that surge sort of tabled those questions as young players called up from Omaha performed well.

As these players cool off, and we begin to see what they can provide over the long-term, the weaknesses in the Kansas City Royals roster will become clearer.

The rotation looks like a problem going forward. Either someone needs to start throwing like an ace, the KC Royals find some help from current rehab projects Mike Minor or Jason Vargas, or the front-office goes shopping on the trade market.

The problem is how many trade pieces do the Kansas City Royals have that might attract teams looking for prospects? The Royals farm system is better off than most analysts believed this winter. Formerly stuck talents like Cheslor Cuthbert, Hunter Dozier, and Jorge Bonifacio raked in the early going in AAA.

Meanwhile, players like Whit Merrifield and Brett Eibner have shown well in Kansas City despite being 27-year-old prospects who looked more like AAAA players than major-league contributors. Even so, Kansas City’s top prospects Raul Mondesi Jr. is serving a 50-game PED violation suspension, and pitcher Kyle Zimmer is hurt once again.

Next: Six Trade Targets To Help Royals

These struggles leave Kansas City without top end trade chips to land prime rental talents like Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist were last season.

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