Kansas City Royals Rumors: What’s next on the market?

The additions of Buchter and Maurer are nice, and it seems like the Kansas City Royals will be happy to hang onto Kelvin Herrera for the duration. But one can never have too much pitching, and that’s where Pat Neshek comes in.

Neshek has been a quality arm for years but has blossomed in his mid-to-late 30s, earning two All-Star appearances since 2014. He’s got a microscopic 1.12 ERA and 1.93 FIP this season, both career-bests, and is punching out 10.0 batters per nine, his best mark in a decade.

Adding Neshek would give Ned Yost another veteran late-inning option to go along with Herrera and Maurer. It would remove Scott Alexander and Joakim Soria from high-leverage situations (both own plus-6.00 ERA’s in 15.1 combined high-leverage innings). And it would likely—finally—solidify the bullpen barring an injury; even then, Brian Flynn, Eric Skoglund and Jakob Junis could fit in better as complementary pieces rather than burden-carrying members of the bullpen.

Neshek fits, and as part of the narrow sliver of the Venn Diagram that are high level relievers yet not closers, he won’t command a king’s ransom. Neshek makes sense; I want him in this bullpen and would even slightly overpay for the privilege.

Jarrod Dyson, OF, Seattle

Well hello, old friend.

You remember Jarrod Dyson. Super-fast, light-hitting, slick-fielding outfielder.

Nothing’s changed except his address. Let’s change it back.

The Mariners are treading water—again—and have no reason to hang onto Dyson aside from betting on the future potential of the young pup.

Wait, he’ll be 33-years old in less than a month. That’s absolutely untrue.

Dyson’s problem this season has been his batted-ball profile. As a guy who is supposed to make things happen with his feet, Dyson has seen his line-drive rate dip (to 19 percent, lowest since 2014) and his fly ball rate spike to an alarming 34.4 percent—easily the highest mark of his career and an alarmingly high number for a non-power guy. Salvador Perez can have a fly ball rate near 50 percent. I’m not looking for Salvador Perez to go beating people with his feet.

Guillermo Heredia has been splitting time with Dyson for much of the season, and Jean Segura has largely taken his spot as a leadoff hitter. He’s got little to offer the Mariners, while a (suddenly) pitching-flush Kansas City Royals squad could deal off a surplus arm to help shore up the Mariners bullpen. I believe this is what they call a win-win.

The Kansas City Royals have already gone to the well in San Diego and come out with a pretty solid return, all things considered.

But what if Dayton Moore made one more call to A.J. Preller? We all know Preller plays it fast and he plays it loose and he’s now had to pivot (again) from winning now to acquiring for the future. What if a young middle infielder (Ramon Torres?) went to the Padres for Hand and another, slightly older, infielder like, say Cory Spangenberg? Or what if Junis or someone of equal or lesser value were included? What if the Padres ever wise up and fire Preller? Who will the rest of the league fleece on a near-constant basis?

What if Preller’s last act as Padres GM—before he was shipped off to an MLB black site for his crimes against baseball—was to deal off an All-Star arm with two more seasons of team control for two low-level prospects and a $50 gift card to Jack Stack BBQ?

I don’t have the answers, you know. Just the questions. But it wouldn’t surprise me if GMDM put another phone call in to a 619 area code.

Ichiro, OF, Miami

There are a number of reasons why the Kansas City Royals could stand to take a long, hard look at the Rising Sun’s Favorite Son:

• Ichiro continues to possess above-average defensive abilities in the outfield—in his limited outings in 2017, he’s got the second-best arm rating and second-best UZR on the Marlins behind Marcell Ozuna.
• He’s a veteran presence that fits into any clubhouse—you can’t go a season without teammates raving about his leadership.
• Never underestimate the karmic factor of bringing aboard the Veteran Chasing His Elusive Championship Ring element into the equation.
• Despite the fact that he’s nearly 44 years old, Ichiro still commands a huge following in Japan—by all accounts, he’s some combination of Michael Jordan and the Beatles in his home country. I’m not a big brand enhancement guy, but if you’re getting a fourth outfielder/designated hitter type, why not go for the one who could train the eyes of a baseball-mad nation on your franchise during the playoffs?
• An outfield of Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Ichiro would cover a lot of ground and be tons of fun to watch.

Ichiro is 43. He’s hitting .223 this season. But he represents a defensive upgrade in the late innings, Jorge Bonifacio could always slide in as the DH and honestly, it would just be tons of fan to have him.

Kelby Tomlinson, San Francisco

I really, really, really wanted to include Wilmer Flores in this spot. Really, really, really. I’ve been a Flores fan since he sobbed on the field at the thought of being traded to Milwaukee two seasons ago.

But it doesn’t make much sense for the Mets to deal a controllable asset for prospects, especially not to the Royals, whose positions of strength—arms and corners—don’t really line up with the Mets needs.

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But Kelby Tomlinson? Kelby Tomlinson and his Harry Crane rec specs are a perfect fit.

Tomlinson is the sort of Swiss Army knife player Whit Merrifield would be if he weren’t so good he needed to be on the diamond every single day. His power won’t blow you away but he’s an above-board fielder at a number of premium positions and can more than handle the stick at the dish.

He’s been a role player in San Francisco for three seasons and doesn’t need a ton of at-bats to be useful.

Even more perfectly, the Giants already have Conor Gillaspie, who gives them most of the same things Tomlinson provides. And San Francisco’s continued ineptitude in the bullpen means Tomlinson could be had for an upper-tier Quad-A prospect (Seth Maness?) that provides the Giants another arm who may not be a disaster. Insert something about beggars and choosers here.

Next: Super-Whit

The Royals don’t need to make all these moves (adding Jarrod Dyson and Ichiro, for example, would be madness); they don’t NEED to make any of them. But a couple more tweaks to the roster could have the Kansas City Royals looking a whole lot better a week from now.Knsas