Partial Sell at the Trade Deadline Draws More Questions For The Kansas City Royals
The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone. There was a ton of movement around the league and the Kansas City Royals got in on a small piece of the action last minute.
Starting pitcher, and long-time homegrown Royal, Danny Duffy was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for players to be named later. Duffy is still on the IL, but the Dodgers are anticipating he will be able to help them in the playoffs.
The Dodgers also added one of the best pitchers and one of the best position players to their roster when trading for the Washington Nationals Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. The Duffy deal seems like a side note after the headliner deal came across the wires. However, the loss of Duffy, who had become a fan favorite over the years, will sting in the hearts of Royals fans even though we saw it coming.
There’s been plenty written about Duffy and the adversity he’s overcome in his career. Despite speculation of his potential departure last week leading up to the trade deadline, seeing him go still hurts as he had become a staple in the Kansas City community.
Jorge Soler was dealt at the last moment to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Kasey Kalich. Soler was traded straight up for Wade Davis before the 2017 season and had an up and down career with the Royals. The obvious high point was hitting a franchise-record 48 home runs in 2019. That was also the only season he played in all 162 games. Every other season was shortened either due to injury or pandemic.
Soler was starting to heat up after the All-Star break and at least gave the Royals the opportunity to move him and get something in return. He’ll leave Kansas City with a mostly unfavorable rating among Royals fans, but that 2019 was a lot of fun to see what Soler’s potential could be if he played a full slate of games.
So those were the moves. Duffy and Soler, both players who were on deals with expiring contracts, are gone. Michael A. Taylor avoided a trade which was a surprise to many since he was also on an expiring contract. There’s a chance General Manager Dayton Moore likes Taylor and wants to sign him again next season, but he could have been dealt and still come back to the Royals next season when he hits free agency. There are some Royals fans who hope to see Duffy back in 2022 if the opportunity presents itself.
Carlos Santana, Whit Merifield, and Mike Minor are all players who are under contract through the end of the 2022 season. With Moore not trading any players that had an extra year under contract, messaging from the front office seems to be pretty clear. Moore thinks the Royals can compete in 2022.
The Royals have a solid young nucleus, some that are already with the big league club, and others who are in Triple-A Omaha on the brink of making the jump. It’s reasonable to think the opening day roster could look something like this:
C- Salvador Perez
1B- Nick Pratto
2B- Nicky Lopez
SS- Adalberto Mondesi
3B- Bobby Witt Jr.
OF- Andrew Benintendi, Whit Merrifield, Hunter Dozier
DH- Carlos Santana
Of course, if the team wants to keep Pratto back in Omaha to start the season, they could keep Santana at first base, move Dozier to DH and have Kyle Isbell or Edward Olivares start in the outfield.
No matter what the initial 2022 lineup looks like, there is potential for it to be a solid lineup infused with young talent. A lot of the idea that a playoff push could happen in 2022 will hinge on the young players making a seamless jump from Omaha to Kansas City. A lot of it also hinges on the health of Mondesi, which is a sour talking point among many Royals fans.
And of course, there are the young pitching prospects. We will need to see a big jump from the young core of pitchers if the Royals want any hope of competing in 2022. Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, and Jackson Kowar could all be in the starting rotation to start the season. In this scenario, Mike Minor would need to be traded in the offseason, otherwise, it’s almost a lock that Minor will have one of those starting spots.
With all of these factors at play, this is why many think that 2023 is the season to look ahead to for a potential playoff push. There would be a lot that needs to go perfectly for the Royals to make a run in 2022.
Of course, if the Royals are under .500 around the trade deadline again next season then Moore could make similar moves he made this season and move guys with expiring contracts like Merrifield, Santana, and Minor. At that point, it seems like it would be too little too late in making an impact trade.
Moore could have made a big picture, long-term play by moving multiple parts at the trade deadline this year, including guys who had some extra time on their contracts. Instead, it seems like there is optimism within the organization that the team can compete sooner rather than later.
No one knows for sure how the future will play out, but if the Royals don’t make a playoff run next year, the 2021 trade deadline will be seen as a failure. The organization had a winning culture for a couple of years but it wasn’t sustained success. With so many pieces that could have been moved, but ultimately stayed, the pressure will be on the young core of players to mature at an expedited rate.
We can head into the 2022 season hoping for the best while bracing for another letdown. Unfortunately for Royals fans, that’s the best we can do at this point.
