Royals Could Make 'Massively Important' Trade With Braves For All-Star
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The Kansas City Royals entered Thursday dead-last in Major League Baseball in home runs.
Yikes. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and his 10 homers aren't far behind Kansas City's collective home run total: 15.
The Royals are also second-last in MLB slugging percentage at .336, ahead of only the lowly Chicago White Sox (.325).
Given Kansas City’s horrifying slug problem, it’s a miracle that the club has maintained a 16-15 record. The Royals pitching rotation and Bobby Witt Jr. have something to do with that.
Kansas City is surviving for now, but the American League Central is shaping up to be extremely competitive with both the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians set up to contend.
To keep pace with those teams, the Royals must add a big bat before the trade deadline, and they can’t be afraid to spend big to get it.
On Wednesday night, MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger made an interesting observation during MLB Tonight that relates directly to the Royals and their needs.
Amsinger noted that Atlanta Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna could soon be traded.
“(The Braves are) turning things round,” Amsinger said.
“They could have an above .500 record by the end of the weekend. But Marcell Ozuna, if they're out of it, they gotta move.”
“His value is through the roof when he plays. He's massively important. So many teams need slug — they will give (Atlanta) tons of prospects for (Ozuna).”
Small-market teams like the Royals traditionally lose out on targets like Ozuna to behemoths like the New York Yankees.
Surely, the Yankees and others would go after Ozuna if he were to hit the market, but that doesn’t mean the Royals shouldn’t enter the sweepstakes.
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-0663bdabe71d386728d098a436d30d0b.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a writer for Kansas City Royals On SI. He graduated from Villanova University with a Major degree in English and a Minor degree in Business. Covering NBA, MLB, NFL and college basketball, he has contributed to various outlets including NESN and FanSided.