3 potential trade partners for KC Royals hurler Danny Duffy

Although both sides have made overtures that they would like to stay together, it is possible the KC Royals would ship the long-tenured southpaw.

Danny Duffy has expressed a desire to be buried a Royal in the past.  As someone who is one of the last ties to the 2014 playoff team and a 2015 World Series winner, it is difficult to think of the KC Royals cutting ties with him.

In 11 starts between 2012 and 2013,  promise was shown he would be a star.  Solid full years from 2014-2017 saw Duffy accumulate 37 wins, ERA’s under 3.51 except for 2015, and ERA+ ranging from 1.11 to 1.39.

Duffy made the brave confession last year about struggling with mental illness.  As we know with Dayton Moore, he is compassionate towards these situations and allowed the pitcher to take time to recoup.  The vulnerability strengthened the bond between the player, club, and the fans.

Duffy joins a growing, yet still small, group of athletes who have spoken out about mental health challenges. Fellow pitcher Zack Greinke left the game in 2006 and when he unexpectedly returned, he announced he deals with a social anxiety disorder. — sports.yahoo.com

After signing a 5-year deal prior to the 2017 season, Duffy had a strong year.  The last three seasons have seen a regression statistically speaking though.  ERAs of 4.88, 4.34, and 4.95 have followed.  The walks per nine innings have been the highest in several years, and the home runs per nine have increased.

There was also the situation of the damaged vehicle and a missed flight in September that forced the Royals to skip his start and brought an end to a six-game winning streak.  His ERA jumped from 4.24 to 5.01 in his next start, seemingly a hangover from the incident.

Duffy can still be a welcome veteran presence, especially with the wave of young pitching talent the Royals have coming up.  Heading into his age-32 season, there are still plenty of years left in that talented left arm.

A move to the bullpen might rejuvenate his career.  In the five 2020 starts where he allowed more than four runs, only once did the opposition get more than a run on him in the first four frames.  Duffy is still stingy against left-handed batters holding them to a .577 OPS in 34 plate appearance this season.

The KC Royals would likely need to absorb some of his $15.5 million salary for next year – the last of his current deal – if moving him.  It is also not hard to see him as a strong opener or later inning reliever who can give you multiple innings and shut down the lefties in the lineup.

The following are three teams in need of a player like Duffy to make a playoff run next year and what Kansas City could land in return.

The Cincinnati Reds qualified for the Wild Card this year despite lacking a strong fifth starter or depth in left-handed bullpen pitchers.

Perhaps a good fit would be playing alongside Mike Moustakas again.  It would certainly ease his transition into the team and the Reds could use another southpaw in the bullpen.

As mentioned the Reds lacked a strong ending to the rotation and with Trevor Bauer an unrestricted free agent they may need more help at starting pitching.  Amir Garrett was solid in the bullpen but outside of him, they did not have good pitching from the left side.  This is where Duffy could make a big impact.

A decent return would be top Reds prospect Michael Siani.  He is a great glove and speedster with a knack for getting on base.  His only full season in the minors in 2019 culminated with him swiping 45 bases, an OBP of .333, and making 18 outfield assists.

He just turned 22 so there is time for him to gain more experience while we see how the Royal’s current OF prospects shake out.  Saini did play in three spring training version 1 games and was able to record a hit off Josh Hader.  Hader only allowed eight hits in 19 innings this year in the regular season.

Options in the OF are needed, plus even if the KC Royals pay part of Duffy’s salary this still wipes money off the books that can be used to pursue other free agents.

The KC Royals drafted Duffy from Cabrillo High School in California, a state he was born and raised.  Perhaps a return to his roots would be beneficial.

The Los Angeles Angels have plenty of problems on their hands.  A fifth consecutive losing season with guys like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Justin Upton, and Anthony Rendon is not acceptable.  While it would seem adding a southpaw is not a major priority, it is something they desperately could use.

They had no reliable left-hander out of the bullpen last year.  Hoby Milner received the most appearances by one and his ERA was 8.10.  Only one of the four starters who began more than six games produced an ERA under 3.99 so Duffy might be able to help in that area as well.

In return, a player name Taylor Ward could breathe some life into the Kansas City outfield.  He has had a couple of very productive years in the minors but has not yet made it click in the majors.  At age 26 and with high talent and dollars blocking him, a change of scenery might do him well.

If Ward can find the touch he had prior to his call ups, the Royals would benefit greatly.  His OBP’s of .457, .368, .446, and .427 in four out five minor league years are sorely needed for a team where many players cannot effectively reach base.

He also has pop in his bat and has played error-free defense in the outfield.  All-in-all this would be a risk but one worth taking considering Duffy will be heading into the last year of his contract.