KC Royals: Where Could Royals Players End Up?

Well, not much needs to be said about the KC Royals’ 7-16 April except that it seems that the club isn’t going to be as good as we thought they would be this season. As sad as that is to say, there are some positives to not being good this year, one of which being the massive influx of talent that could result from trading the to-be free agent core players.

Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and others are all slated to become free agents following the conclusion of the 2017 season. Should the KC Royals not be far out of contention come June/July (and let’s be honest…), trading some of these guys to competitive teams could yield a productive return for the KC Royals. Let’s take a very early look at the possible suitors for our guys…

Lorenzo Cain

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Let’s start with the obvious, the Washington Nationals were devastated with the late-April loss of Adam Eaton, whom they had acquired in a large trade with the White Sox. With a torn ACL, Eaton is undoubtedly done for the season, leaving a gaping hole in the Nationals outfield (specifically, their center field).

Michael Taylor is the likely candidate to hold the position, unless a better CF becomes available, such as Lorenzo Cain. Don’t write off the division-rival Cleveland Indians as suitors for Cain, they have their outfield needs, too.

Mike Moustakas

Moose is in a position to have the best season amongst any of the other KC Royals free-agents-to-be, which could work out nicely for the struggling Royals if they were able to strike a deal. Perhaps one of the most well-known positional struggles in the Majors is the third-base struggle for the Boston Red Sox, who have not had a solid third baseman in years. With Pablo Sandoval sidelined and no sure backup, the Sox could have extensive interest in Moose. I’m not sure that Moose wouldn’t mind, especially with that extremely odd (and short) right field fence/porch thing that Fenway has going on.

Eric Hosmer

Yes, teams will still be willing to pay a good amount to nap Hoz from the KC Royals. Despite his early offensive struggles that surely won’t last all season, his defense and speed at the first base position catch a lot of eyes around the league. Despite the popular opinions on where Hoz could end up, I tend to think that the Houston Astros will have a substantial interest in the Royals first baseman. Houston is poised to compete in a pennant race this year and I’m going to just say that Yuli Gurriel at 1B just won’t cut it for them. Picture this infield: Alex Bregman-Carlos Correa- Jose Altuve- Eric Hosmer. Oof.

Kelvin Herrera?

Kelvin Herrera is not a free agent after this season, but he could be dealt at the deadline to a competitive club that needs to stack their back-end before the postseason. This seems kind of unlikely, but it could happen.

The Wrap-Up

Yeah, it would be hard seeing a lot of these guys leave Kansas City, but it might not be the last time you see them in Royal blue as they can always come back after the season and sign with KC during the offseason.

The Unbiased Case for Breaking Up the KC Royals

Seeing them through on a last-place club is not only a waste of talent, but a poor GM decision; trading these guys for legitimate talent in prospects can be crucial to the rebuild of the KC Royals program that is surely to come. It would be hard to see these home-grown guys in other uniforms but I imagine that I’m not the only KC Royals fan that wants to see each of those guys win another ring.