3 players the KC Royals should trade for soon

Most experts agree the KC Royals will not be a contender until next season and finding a player via the trade route could solidify those predictions.

While it appears that new owner John Sherman will be patient in opening his wallet for free agents, the KC Royals could make deals to bolster the talent without breaking the bank.

Before we get to who Kansas City should look at acquiring, they must also give up players in return. One obvious option would be Ian Kennedy. Switching to the bullpen last year rejuvenated his career and many teams making a postseason push look for relievers to shore up overworked bullpens. Since Kennedy is a free agent after this year the return value is diminished and his salary is steep but there will still be suitors if he puts together another solid spring and early summer.

Danny Duffy is another option. He has endeared himself to the Kansas City fans with his grit and it may not be a popular move but with two years remaining on his contract, the left-hander could be valuable to a contender. If he struggles to begin the year as a starter, the Royals would be wise to shift him to the bullpen to see if he can blossom in that role which would make it easier to deal him.

Signing for just under $3 million for one year, Maikel Franco has a chance to reestablish himself as a sought offer third baseman. A drop in OPS of 26 points from 2018 to 2019 kept many teams from knocking on his door. If Franco can turn into a “Dayton special” and tap into the success he had in 2015, ’16 and ’18, the KC Royals could get a nice return in a trade.

The rest of the trade bait would be young players who are not hurting the Royals with their salary and/or have not put up the statistics at the big league level that could lead to a decent offer. Or, for the right player, they could cut loose of one of their many talented minor leaguers who might be making their big league debut anytime in the next year or two. This would be the least popular (and most unlikely) as the future success of the team is attached to potential core players such as Daniel Lynch, Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Khalil Lee, MJ Melendez, and others.

What follows are three players that should be targeted to help propel the franchise back to the top of the standings.

As the KC Royals began to integrate the young core of talented arms coming up through the minors, a veteran pitcher with success in the rotation and bullpen would be a boon.

With the moves they have made this off-season, the Los Angeles Dodgers obviously feel Ross Stripling is expendable as seen by their trade that fell through earlier in February that included him.

Stripling did not make his big league debut until age 26 and so after four seasons he his already entering his 30’s.  He is inexpensive at $2.1 million and not a free agent until 2023.

His numbers have been solid his entire major league career, never posting an ERA above 3.96, keeping his WHIP below 1.19 each season but one and a career ERA+ of 115.  He strikes out around a batter an inning and made the All-Star game back in 2018.

As mentioned, he is comfortable in a variety of roles which would come in handy as the Royals try to figure out what they have with their younger staff.  Stripling also throws a knuckle-curve which might be the coolest pitch around.

Last year shined a light on the fact that the KC Royals need Salvador Perez to move towards a 1B/DH role to keep him healthy long-term.

No catchers in the organization have stepped up yet to wear the crown as Perez’s replacement.  Another option would be to take a flyer on a player who is currently bottled up by other players on the depth chart.

Our friends over at the Redbird Rants listed Andrew Knizner as a player who could be moved this year.  The 6’1″ right-handed backstop is still ranked high as a Cardinals prospect but at age 25 and with his path still blocked by Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters, the Royals could have a chance to pick him up.

A career .303/.369/.461 slash in the minors shows he knows how to handle a stick and he earned praise for his ability to call major league games behind the plate. While this may not be a sexy trade people would like to see, finding a long-term catcher who can hit and guide a pitching staff will be vital to another Royals run at sustained success.

“He’s taken a lot of pride in putting a game plan together,” Wieters asid. “It’s been exciting to see a young kid come up and not just think about the hitting part of it or throwing part of it. He’s taken pride in realizing that no matter how good of a game he has, if the pitcher has a good game, we’ve got a good chance to win. – Matt Wieters

How Sherman will handle free agent signings and trades is a complete unknown at this point.  Expecting the KC Royals to pull off a blockbuster is not logical but maybe they will be more active in 2020 and start building towards long-term success sooner than later.