Royals Rumors Roundup: Atlanta not expected to chase Mike Moustakas

The Kansas City Royals have plenty of free agents who will be targets of other teams. Here’s a look at some of the rumored destinations for those players from around the web.

There are so many Hot Stove rumors swirling about former Kansas City Royals players that we decided to group together some of the top ones — as of this moment. The great, and sometimes agonizing thing, about free agency is the unknown. It’s an exciting time for many franchises, but, for obvious reasons, it’s a frightening one for Royals fans.

Kansas City supporters are looking for any bit of encouraging news when it comes to their key franchise pieces. Well, we give you just that with this tidbit from Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Braves aren’t expected to pursue Mike Moustakas this offseason. Burns’ piece seemed to be in response to MLB Trade Rumors predicting Moose would sign with Atlanta. In that article, the writers at MLB Trade Rumors concluded Moustakas would land a five-year, $85 million deal with the Braves.

Burns points out that contract — if Moose did receive it — would be the richest in the franchise’s history. It would be almost $10 million more than Atlanta spent on B.J. Upton in 2012. Burns also noted that such a move would run contrary to the Braves’ rebuilding plan. But he did note that the possibility of Dayton Moore joining the Atlanta front office could change things. For the record, Mark Bowman, who covers the Braves for MLB.com, thinks Moustakas could be a wild card free agent target.

So if he doesn’t end up in Kansas City or Atlanta, then where might Moustakas sign? We already know the Angels would make a lot of sense. And the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo also mentions them — along with the Mets, Yankees and Giants — as a possible destination.

Hosmer Could be Rockies Target

According to MLB.com’s Rockies beat writer Thomas Harding, the Kansas City Royals should expect a push from their neighbor to the west for Eric Hosmer‘s signature this winter. Colorado looks to have Hosmer and J.D. Martinez atop its early holiday wish list. Harding mentions another priority move for the team would be to bring back Greg Holland. If Hosmer and Holland do team up again, there could be some friendly ribbing after their most recent encounter:

Elsewhere in the rumor mill, the idea of Boston making a run at Hosmer could hit a slight snag. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com believes that a deal for Martinez would be more sensible for the franchise. That’s because, unlike Martinez, Hosmer received a qualifying offer from the Kansas City Royals. That offer means the Red Sox (or any other team that signs Hosmer) would lose a high draft pick and a portion of its international signing money.

For what it’s worth, the article quoted Boston general manager Dave Dombrowski as saying this about signing a player with a qualifying offer:

“If two players are exactly even in your mind and one has a qualifying offer and one doesn’t, does it make a difference? Yes. But of course it depends on what players you’re talking about. … But I don’t think a qualifying offer — if it was somebody that we really wanted and thought was the guy — would make a difference for us.”

Smith isn’t the only one discussing the possibility of Boston skipping the Hosmer sweepstakes. Bleacher Report’s Jacob Shafer thinks the Red Sox should target a cheaper option at first base. Another B/R piece, this one from Tyler Conway, predicts Kansas City will retain Hosmer. However, it has Lorenzo Cain landing in Boston and Moustakas winding up in St. Louis.

Vargas Looking Like a Perfect Fit for Baltimore

If the Hot Stove has its way, Jason Vargas seems to be on his way to playing for the Orioles in 2018. According to MASNsports’ Roch Kubatko, Vargas and former Texas hurler Andrew Cashner could be targets to join a Baltimore rotation looking to replace three starters. Vargas and Cashner, who could be a realistic target to replace Vargas in KC, would give the Orioles a lefty-righty combination in the middle of the rotation.

Kubatko is just the latest person to view Baltimore as a potential suitor for the former Kansas City Royals pitcher. MLB Trade Rumors predicted Vargas would sign with the Orioles for one year and $10 million. MLB.com columnist Jim Duquette also believes the left-hander will ink a deal with Baltimore. A former Mets general manager, Duquette calls for Vargas to receive a two-year, $24 million contract. That points to the main sticking point with the aging starter.

Ideally, Vargas would earn himself a two-year pact. It’s hard to argue someone who tied for the league lead in wins doesn’t deserve at least that much. Then again, he will be 35 years old when the season starts. Baltimore, though, seems desperate to add multiple starters, meaning the organization might not have the leverage to sign Vargas to a one-year deal. It should be pointed out that Duquette used to work in the Orioles front office, and his cousin, Dan Duquette, is the team’s current general manager.

Regardless of the contract length, it’s looking increasingly likely that Vargas pitches for Baltimore in 2018 (and maybe 2019).