Kansas City Royals and the 2017 Trade Deadline

Herrera may be the Kansas City Royals closer now. My question is should he, or does he need to be. I believe there is proof that without KH the bullpen could perform close to the same level, at the very least. If that is indeed the case then he becomes expendable. Here is why I have made this conclusion.

KH 2017 Stats –  35 games (34.0 IP), 4.50 ERA, 1-2 Record, 19 SV, 33 K, 1.265 WHIP and -0.1 WAR

Player A – 38 games (36.0 IP), 3.25 ERA, 4-2 Record, 1 SV, 48 K, 1.278 WHIP and 0.8 WAR

Player A is Joakim Soria. I know he was garbage in 2016. Good thing this is 2017. Fans need to be able to differentiate that. Jack also carries the “proven closer” moniker with him. Players have down years and by now I believe that is what last season was. At the very least he has shown that he can provide similar to better production that KH now.

Mike Minor has been excellent this year. You factor that in with promising results for Kyle Zimmer, in Triple A Omaha since moving to the pen, and you still have a back-end that should be just as good as what the Royals rely on currently.

Zimmer-Minor-Soria can get the job done. Don’t forget about recently acquired Neftali Feliz. Oh and Seth Maness, Scott Alexander,and Kevin McCarthy who all have the ability to throw a baseball toward home plate out of the pen as well. Because of that Herrera is a major trade chip that could allow Dayton Moore to go after a “frontline starter” without wiping out an already depleted farm system. I am not saying that KH on his own will net such a player.

What I am saying is that KH plus a (singular) prospect just might. Could Herrera and a minor leaguer such as a seemingly improved Bubba Starling get the job done? Maybe, now we just need to know who could be potential targets.