The winter meetings are beyond the midway point, yet the KC Royals have been relatively quiet. They have been rumored to be linked to a few players, but nothing concrete.
Mark Trumbo of the LA Angels was bringing some interest, but was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of a three-team deal also involving the Chicago White Sox. The Royals were originally rumored to be one of the teams.
The Royals have shown interest in free agent second baseman Omar Infante, but his asking price is around $8 million. That asking price would seem to be out of the Royals range, especially considering the team has said they will not go over their payroll numbers from last season (which they are already at). The NY Yankees seem to be their biggest opponent once again (just like with outfielder Carlos Beltran), but refuse to go to four years. That may make the Royals the front runners (like they supposedly were with Beltran). GM Dayton Moore has stated that he believes in Emilio Bonifacio being the starting second baseman, so we will see. Signing Infante would mean the end for a young guy like Johnny Giavotella and possibly Christian Colon.
That means that the Howie Kendrick rumor should take on more steam, especially if Infante signs elsewhere. The Angels received some young pitching for Trumbo (Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago), so maybe they will back off their asking price from the Royals for their second baseman. However, Infante’s asking price may have driven up the price for Kendrick too. However, Kendrick seems to have been taken off the table after the trade of Trumbo.
Despite already trading outfielder Dexter Fowler, the Colorado Rockies still have interest in members of the Royals bullpen. They include right-handers Aaron Crow, Wade Davis, and Luke Hochevar, along with lefty Tim Collins. Both sides deny talks.
The Texas Rangers were interested in DH Billy Butler, but with their signing of Prince Fielder and their interest to bring back outfielder Nelson Cruz, it seems the Rangers have moved on.
Speaking of Cruz, the Royals have shown interest. However, his asking price also seems to be out of the Royals range. He would be the big power bat from the right side that they are looking for.
The Royals (and the Chicago Cubs) have shown interest in reliever Joba Chamberlain. It might be a good move, considering he is a local guy (he went to Nebraska with current Royal Alex Gordon) and he may have a good relationship with pitching coach Dave Eiland. Chamberlain is a bulldog and could fit nicely if the Royals trade some of their current relievers. The Dbacks have offered him a $3 million deal for one year. Now Detroit and Houston are showing interest.
Free agent starter Jason Hammel has drawn interest from the Royals. REALLY? He only threw 139.1 innings for Baltimore last year because of injuries and the Orioles are not jumping to re-sign him. I was hearing that he wanted a multi-year deal, but now will take a one-year deal to prove his worth and hit the free agent market again.
The Philadelphia Phillies have announced that they will pretty much listen to offers on anyone and that includes young outfielder Domonic Brown. However, they want 2-3 players in return. I like Dom, I really do (I may like him more as a person than I do as a player), but I do not think he is worth 2-3 young players right now. Maybe at midseason, if he proves he can continue to hit big league pitching, but not now. Do the Royals need a power bat? Sure do. but Dom is left-handed and plays left field (which is an adventure for him at times). I am not sure it is a good fit, especially if it costs the Royals someone like Kyle Zimmer or Danny Duffy (or maybe even a young outfielder like Lane Adams).
Later on Tuesday night on Twitter, a rumor swirled from “sources” about the Royals interest in Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija. The rumor was Samardzija for Crow, Lorenzo Cain, and two prospects. REALLY? I guess I have not seen enough of Samardzija to believe he is worth that much. Sure four players the Royals give up could end up amounting to nothing (especially if Cain continues to get hurt, Crow struggles out of the pen, and the prospects do not develop), but would Samardzija adapt well to the American League? He finally seems to be coming into his own after the Cubs lured him away from the NFL and football at Notre Dame in 2006.
I woke up this morning to the rumor that the Royals are one of many teams who have shown interest in free agent lefty Johan Santana. He would be a low risk, high reward pitcher if you can sign him cheap and he stays healthy. Santana would slide in nicely between ace James Shields and the newly signed Jason Vargas. If he does not sign, Santana will throw in January to showcase his surgically repaired left arm.
It seems like every hour there is a new rumor linked to the Royals, but nothing has come to fruition…yet.
*The Rule V Draft is tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see if Brian Fletcher is selected. I think he could help a team, especially in the AL. It would be neat if the Atlanta Braves scooped him up, putting him in big league camp with his father, who is a Braves coach.
The Royals current roster is at 39 players, so they could pick someone up in tomorrow’s draft. The Yankees have some interesting arms available, including hard throwers Tommy Kahnle and Danny Burawa, along with lefty Fred Lewis. I had a chance to see all three pitch this season with Double-A Trenton and all three have the ability to be lights out. The problem with Kahnle and Burawa is control.
**Right-hander Felipe Paulino signed a one-year deal with AL Central rival Chicago.