KC Royals: Five Players the Royals Could Sell at the Trade Deadline

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Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

1) Kendrys Morales

Kendrys Morales is having a difficult year with the KC Royals. in 2015, Morales slashed .290/.362/.489. Morales hit 22 dingers as well and drove in 106 runs. He was also clutch having a batting average of .335 with runners in scoring position.

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Morales was also very effective from both sides of the plate in 2015 having an OPS of .901 hitting LH and .771 batting RH. It should be noted that he hits LH more often than RH so his overall OPS was closer to .901 at .847. That is certainly getting it done.

Those 2015 numbers look even better when you consider that Dayton Moore and the Royals signed Morales to a 2 year deal where Morales made $7.25 Million in 2015. It is still my opinion that Morales should have been the comeback player of the year in 2015, though he did win the silver slugger award for best DH in the AL.

2016 on the other hand has been a disappointment. In the last 14 days, Morales has had a batting average around .270. But on the season, Morales has an OPS of just .603. That is just awful, especially from a DH.

Sure Morales is hitting the ball hard and the shift is taking away a lot of hits, but the bottom line is he isn’t getting on base. I think if you ask Moustakas, learning to go the other way in the middle of a season is going to be nearly impossible, and few players, unlike Moustakas, can truly commit to it.

The other thing is, Morales has a mutual option in 2017 for $11 million which I doubt the Royals will agree to should his lack of production at the plate continue. So, should things go south, Morales might be someone the Royals could move to a team with short porch ball park or in need of a 1B/DH. I doubt the return would be very big, but it would save some money and allow a younger player like Eibner to get more MLB at bats.

Next: Trade Bait No. 2

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