Kansas City Royals: Potential Moves Monday Might Bring

The Kansas City Royals are going to be active tomorrow. They have a lot of players returning from injury and others who are struggling and should be moved. It’s just a matter of who and if right now.

The Kansas City Royals could have an interesting Monday. With Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon set to come back, it looks like some changes will be happening. But you also have to believe that some other players are going to be getting bumped here soon as well. If not tomorrow, then very soon.

Let’s take a look at some of the possible moves that tomorrow could bring.

Salvador Perez recalled

This one should not be a shocker. The Royals desperately need Perez. The team is completely different without him and his bat will do wonders for the offense. He can provide protection for lefties Mike Moustakas and Lucas Duda as well.

During his seven rehab games, Perez hit .375/.385/.708 with two doubles and two home runs. He did not seem to show much of a problem with his knee either, which is a good sign.

Obviously, Perez has a gene that no one else does because the guy heals incredibly fast. He is closer to the 4-week recovery time, which was not what fans in Kansas City thought would happen. Thankfully we are wrong.

In order to make room for Perez, someone has to go. Neither Drew Butera (.182/.275/.227) or Cam Gallagher (.208/.240/.292) are hitting particularly well, but Gallagher seems to be the favorite to be optioned back to Omaha.

Next year will most likely be Gallagher’s time to be backup, but until Butera is a free agent next year it seems like Gallagher will stay in Omaha to get him consistent at-bats.

Alex Gordon recalled

This one is always going to bring a different type of reaction from fans. Let’s be clear, Gordon is better than any other option the Royals currently have. He deserves to be on the 25-man roster. What they do with him on that roster is a different argument altogether. However, Gordon is one of the four best outfielders the team currently has.

Moving on.

With both Gordon and Perez being scratched from today’s game in Triple-A, Gordon is returning. Therefore, the team has to find someone to swap places. Which brings us to the Abraham Almonte and Paulo Orlando debate. Jon Jay and Jorge Soler are firmly set on the team, therefore one of the others has to go.

The decision seems simple. Almonte is hitting .333/.391/.619 with two home runs (one being a Grand Slam), six RBI, three strikeouts to two walks, and a stolen base over his last six games. Orlando is hitting .191/.224/.234 with two doubles, four RBI, 12 strikeouts to two walks, and zero stolen bases over the last 12 games.

I believe Orlando will be optioned back to Omaha to make room for Gordon. Almonte has started to show that he can be a reliable outfielder, and could potentially force himself into the conversation of more playing time. As I mentioned early, that is for a different conversation though.

Blaine Boyer Designated for Assignment

This move needs to happen. Since joining the 25-man roster, Blaine Boyer has been a complete disaster. He has appeared in seven games, throwing six innings, allowing 19 runs (15 earned), striking out two batters and walking eight. If those numbers do not sound bad enough, let’s take a look at his 22.50 ERA and 3.50 WHIP.

Now, before this turns bad the Royals signed him to essentially be a gap filler. The 36-year-old bullpen arm has traveled all over the MLB. He has played for nine team, which is nearly a third of the MLB. Therefore, the point of this signing was a low-risk/high-reward type contract.

But to be honest, it has been awful. And fortunately for the Royals, they do have a solution to this problem.

Clay Buchholz was a late contract the Royals signed during Spring Training. He has spent the year in Extended Spring Training, and in the minors so far this year. During this time, he has started two games, thrown 11.0 innings, struck out eight and walked just three. He also has allowed one run, resulting in a 0.82 ERA.

He has spent time as a starter and bullpen arm over his career, so he solves potentially two problems for the Royals. Buchholz can be a starter, or he could be a useful bullpen arm.

Unfortunately, he has a May 1st opt-out in his contract. Therefore, if the Royals are going to utilize him they need to make the move quickly.

Luckily, by designating for assignment Boyer, that free’s up a 40-man roster spot for the Royals. This would allow them to add Buchholz without having to DFA another player.

It almost seems to perfect.

Trevor Oaks called up

This move would simply be based on one reason. Eric Skoglund needs to figure out his command more. Skoglund has struggled for most of the year, especially in the first inning, but the young pitcher could still be utilized later. So far over three starts he has only gone 14.2 innings, struck out 10 and walked five while posting an 8.59 ERA.

Therefore, it might be worth looking at what Trevor Oaks can do.

When the Royals acquired Oaks in the Scott Alexander trade, they believed he was capable of being a starter soon. After a rough Spring Training, Skoglund got the promotion over him. However, due to recent circumstances, Oaks might get his chance.

Since the start of minor league baseball, Oaks has started four games, posting a 1-2 record. During that time he has posted a 3.09 ERA with 11 strikeouts, six walks, a 1.071 WHIP over 23.1 innings.

Although this move seems unlikely to happen tomorrow, it is definitely something to watch. If Skoglund continues to struggle and Oaks continues to excel, perhaps a swap of Skoglund and Oaks will be in order.

Justin Grimm Designated for Assignment

This is another move that seems unlikely, but with how recent circumstances have gone I would not be shocked. Justin Grimm has struggled recently, and his struggles are worse than Boyer’s. Which is saying something.

Grimm on the season has a 21.86 ERA over his 10 appearances. However, over his last five appearances, Grimm has a 65.45 ERA. Unfortunately, you read that correctly. Grimm has allowed 16 earned runs over his last 2.2 innings, which spans over five appearances.

Therefore, Grimm being DFA’d would not really surprise anyone, would it?

This move would make room for another 40-man roster addition, which could bring Richard Lovelady to the big league team.

Lovelady is currently in Omaha where he has thrown 5.2 innings over six games. He has an ERA of 1.59 and has three strikeouts to six walks. His strikeouts to walks is normally a strong area for him, as for his career he has 110 strikeouts and 35 walks, so the slow start is unusual. But it has also been just 5.2 innings.

Nevertheless, I believe that would work great at the MLB level. Plus his name is absolutely amazing.

Final Thoughts

I do believe Monday could provide some exciting results for the Royals. They could bring essentially a new wave of players up to the big league team, which could also eliminate some of the poor performing players. That could help the team.

So let’s recap. Here are the moves that are more than likely a guaranteed result:

• Perez replaces Gallagher
• Gordon replaces Orlando.
• Boyer is DFA’d and Buchholz is brought up to avoid having him opt-out May 1st.

I feel like that would be the best move the Royals could make as of right now.

As for moves I want to see happen, but most likely won’t just yet:

• Skoglund being optioned to Omaha and Oaks being promoted.
• Grimm being DFA’d and Lovelady promoted.

I would be willing to bet those will happen soon, just might not happen yet because they are wanting to see if they can turn things around. But then again I would not be surprised if that was a part of the moves tomorrow.

So what do you think Royals fans? Am I forgetting anything? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know below!