Orioles-Royals Blockbuster Trade Idea Sends $9 Million All-Star To Kansas City
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As the Kansas City Royals begin to heat up, an outfield bat still looks to be the top priority to upgrade the roster.
Royals outfielders are tied for dead last in Major League Baseball with -0.9 fWAR, and they've got the fewest home runs of any team with three. That's not going to cut it, and counting on top prospect Jac Caglianone to save the season, especially because he's never been an outfielder before, feels like a fool's errand.
Fortunately, every trade deadline provides teams with one major need, like the Royals, a chance to make a splash. It's too early to tell who might be available, but one baseball writer has identified a Baltimore Orioles star who would be an ideal fit for Kansas City.
On Saturday, Newsweek's Hunter Mulholland named Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, a 2021 All-Star who is off to a blazing start this season, as a trade candidate for Kansas City ahead of his free agency this winter.
"Mullins would allow the Royals the chance to move on from Isbel in centerfield and, with Jac Caglianone lurking in the minor leagues, open the door for the former first-round pick to make his MLB debut," Mulholland wrote.
The Orioles aren't dead yet, but if they can't turn around their season soon, expect general manager Mike Elias to work the phones on Mullins' expiring contract. The Royals should be first in line to bend his ear about the veteran centerfielder.
Mullins, 30, has slashed .295/.433/.590 on the year, slugging six home runs and racking up 20 RBI. He's making $8.7 million this year, so the Royals would have to absorb a bit less than half of that if they acquired him.
If the Orioles are still in the playoff hunt, the odds that Mullins is available go down drastically. But he's a player to keep an eye on if Baltimore's 10-14 start turns into a nightmare season.
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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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