There have been several names recently that floated around the world wide interwebs of starting pitchers who could be available for the Kansas City Royals to look at. Sadly for me the one I am most intrigued by might not match up with what the Royals could offer. Not saying it couldn’t be done, but there are better fits.
That being said I am still going to throw it out there and hope that good karma does its job. First though let’s look at some of those names that have been speculated in one place or another. Jose Quintana, Ervin Santana, Alex Cobb, Chris Archer, Gerrit Cole, Johnny Cueto and Jeremy Hellickson are all names that are out there at this year’s deadline.
The player I am most intrigued by however is Sonny Gray. Here is a quick look at how he is doing so far.
13 games (78.2 IP), 4.00 ERA, 4-4 record, 74 Ks, 1.208 WHIP and 1.2 WAR
Gray has a solid reputation. I think he would fit nicely in the rotation behind Danny Duffy and Jason Vargas. Like I stated though, I’m not sure that the teams match up great for a deal. While I would really like to see Gray as part of the Kansas City rotation, I wouldn’t want to give up pieces that play important roles for the team next season. Raul Mondesi is the perfect example.
There is one more name that I just heard who, while maybe not at the top of my personal wish list, perhaps matches up better from a trade standpoint. That is Lance Lynn. A potential KH and Starling deal could be in the realm of possibilities for Lynn.
Lynn’s 2017 has shaped up as follows: 17 games (95.1 IP), 3.87 ERA, 6-6 record, 91 Ks, 1.175 WHIP and 1.0 WAR.