Orioles Could Ship $8.7 Million All-Star To Royals In Midseason Blockbuster
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The Kansas City Royals need outfielders, as anyone who's watched the team this season will confidently tell you.
Through 38 games, the Royals' outfielders have somehow been worth a combined -1.0 fWAR, the worst in Major League Baseball. Some of the improvement will have to come from within (looking at you, Jonathan India), but a trade certainly seems like a logical solution at some point.
The list of sellers at the July trade deadline seems to shrink every year, as the expanded playoff format allows more teams to hang in the race. But if the Baltimore Orioles fall apart, as they have already begun to do, one baseball writer believes the Royals could have an ideal target.
On Thursday, Newsweek's Andrew Wright named Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, a 2021 American League All-Star who will be a free agent this winter, as a hypothetical trade target for the Royals this summer.
"After a scorching hot start to the season, Mullins is in the middle of a 2-for-29 slump. There is still plenty of time to improve that, and he will certainly need to get those numbers up to make himself a trade target," Wright wrote.
"If it is made known that Mullins is available, (the Royals) should jump on the phone and try to get a deal worked out."
Mullins, 30, has a high floor as a defensive star in center field with at least an average bat. The Royals have a below-average bat out there in Kyle Isbel who is likely best served as a roaming fourth outfielder and defensive replacement.
If Mullins keeps up his early-season OPS of .815, though, he's a legitimate star at a key position. But the Orioles may have to be buried deep in the standings by the end of July for a Mullins trade to be under consideration.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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