Royals 'Quietly Perfect' Trade Idea Lands Rockies Gold Glover To Fulfill Major Need
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As the Kansas City Royals start to heat up and make a charge in the American League standings, there's still an obvious obstacle that could slow them down.
The Royals' lineup lags far behind their pitching, and in particular, the offense has been brutal all season. Kansas City ranks dead last with -1.0 fWAR from their outfielders, and the group's .309 slugging percentage is more than 30 points worse than any other team.
While the arrival of top prospect Jac Caglianone could help solve the issue at some point this season, the Royals should also be proactive about looking for solutions. And one baseball writer had what he called a "quietly perfect" solution to bring Kansas City a new starting center fielder.
In a recent article, FanSided's Oliver Vandervoort urged the Royals to explore a trade for Colorado Rockies center fielder, a 2024 Gold Glover who is under team control through the end of the 2028 season.
"Doyle, like the rest of the Rockies, is not off to a particularly good start to the season," Vandervoort wrote. "He’s currently 'boasting' a .244/.296/.422 slash line after one heck of a breakout season in 2024, where he hit 23 homers and stole 30 bases. So far, he’s got just two steals this season.
"While a struggling team like the Rockies would likely value prospect capital in a deal, we'd talked earlier this week about the possibility that the KC Royals could use Michael Lorenzen as a trade chip for offense at the deadline. Perhaps he could add to the package."
Not only is Doyle struggling, which could diminish his trade value, but the Rockies have shown no inclination to trade away their players as part of an obvious rebuild. At 6-29 on the season, the Rockies are in danger of breaking the Chicago White Sox's record of 121 losses that was set only last season.
Doyle would be an offensive upgrade over Kyle Isbel even at a low point in his offensive trajectory. But it's not clear whether the Royals could realistically get their hands on him.
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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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