Could this KC Royals outfielder be unconventional asset to deal at trade deadline?

The Kansas City Royals have already made some early noise ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline, by acquiring utility man Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

It may be easy to think that trading for a rental option like Frazier might signal the Royals are in fact approaching this trade season as buyers, and perhaps they are. They're just three games under .500, sit only 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot, and are 8-4 so far to start the month of July.

However, as their weekend series with the New York Mets mildly exposed, plans can change on a dime. The Royals have not been immune to extreme cold stretches this season and with a tricky but pivotal six-game stretch coming up to open the second-half this season, things could get out of hand in Kansas City pretty quickly.

If that's the case and the Royals really finds themselves behind 8-ball and in less of a position to be all-out buyers, the focus could quickly shift to which assets they could trade.

As sellers, the focus will likely be on the arms they could deal rather than the bats. This is due to both the strength of their pitching as well as their complicated offensive landscape.

They have core bats that are likely untouchable like MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. and generational prospect Jac Caglianone, as well as bats that they likely would not have a strong desire to move off of, like Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez and Jonathan India. Then, on the contrary, the majority of their remaining pieces likely don't hold much value, if any.

However, one name that, on the surface, might seem to fall into this low-to-no value category could actually have some deceptive worth that could make him a somewhat an asset at the trade deadline. Enter center fielder Kyle Isbel.

Kyle Isbel could be an unconventional asset at trade deadline should KC Royals need to switch gears

The first thing critics will say about Isbel is that his bat leaves a lot be desired, and their not wrong. He's been a below average hitter since his 28-game spell in his debut season back in 2021 - apart from that 107 wRC+ stint, his next best wRC+ total in a season is the 82 mark he posted last year.

This season in particular he's been nothing to write home about, as he's slashing just .245/.270/.362 with three home runs, 18 RBI and a 69 wRC+. Then, from an underlying metrics perspective, he doesn't hit the ball hard (18th percentile hard-hit rate and AVG exit velo and 3rd percentile barrel rate) and he seldom draws walks (4th percentile BB-rate).

So, how exactly would a nine-hole hitter with a limited offensive profile like this carry any sort of value you ask? Well, there's a few ways.

The first is actually his within his offense. Looking at the 25 primary center fielders with at least 250 plate appearances this year, Isbel sits middle of the pack when it comes to average - his .245 AVG ranks him tied for 15th. Then, he both elevates that and makes up for a low walk rate by holding the sixth lowest K-rate at the position at 19.6% and the fourth lowest swinging-strike rate at 7.6%. For a nine-hole hitter, a mid-.200s AVG and low strikeout and whiff metrics makes a him a solid enough table-setting option for the top of the order.

Then there's the defense, which has certainly been Isbel's calling card througout his career. This season, as Thomas Nestico pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) this week, Isbel is amongst the best center fielders in MLB, accumulating the ninth highest outs above average (OAA) at the position.

Looking even deeper, since his first season as a Royals regular in 2022, Isbel ranks in the Top 20 in OAA amongst all defenders regardless of position, sitting tied for 18th with 29. This precisely why he's managed to carry positive fWAR totals every year of his career to this point.

Lastly, while he doesn't have ground-breaking speed by any means, he can hold his own on the basepaths with above average sprint speeds sitting in the 56th percentile. At least when he manages to get on base he's certainly not a liability.

There's a few trade deadline moves that come to mind that may not be perfect comparisons but are solid examples of trades that contenders have made for role players that may seem somewhat flawed on the surface, like Isbel is.

The first is one at a similar position, and that's when the Toronto Blue Jays traded for outfielder Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies at the deadline in 2015. Now, Revere was a better hitter than Isbel, but at the time he was dealt he was still a below average hitter with a 95 wRC+.

What he was acquired for was to bring his strong bat-to-ball abilities, defense and baserunning skills to complement the Jays' excellent core already established.

Then there's a Royals' related example - which ironically enough was also with the Blue Jays - and that's when they dealt Whit Merrifield away in 2022. At the time of the deal he was a below average hitter with a 77 wRC+.

However, he brought to Toronto solid bat-to-ball abilities, baserunning that could reach the double-digits and great positional versatility on defense.

The focus at the deadline will always be on the big fish. Breathtaking bats and electrfiying aces always grab headlines, but contenders' success isn't defined solely by their stars. Winning teams are a sum of their parts and role players like Isbel always have a role to play in these types of squads. This makes them valuable as between the margins-type moves.

At the end of the day, the Royals will hopefully be in a position where they don't have to consider moving regulars like Isbel. However, with the real possibility looming that they may not be in a point of contention when the trade deadline rolls around at the end of the month, a name like Isbel who likely doesn't heavily-factor into their long-term future, if at all, suddenly becomes someone who can recoup some assets, even if the return is only minimal.