Kansas City Royals Trade Possibilities

With the trade deadline looming on the horizon - I will try to take a look at what chips some of the teams who are out of playoff contention may put in play. Earlier I looked at the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Today I will take a look what players from the Royals may hit the market.

- Reggie Sanders has been suffering from a torn hamstring and has been on the DL since May. If he can make it back before the end of the July then it is very likely he'll be traded (but that seems to be a big "if"). Sanders is in the last year of a 2-year $10 million contract and unlikely to be in the plans for the Royals in 2008. He's a veteran guy who can supply both a veteran presence and some pop at the plate. My favorite Sanders trivia bit is the fact that he is among only six players in MLB history to have both 300 HR and 300 stolen bases (and no Rickey Henderson is not one of the six).

- Octavio Dotel - what team in the playoff hunt couldn't use someone for their bullpen or to be closer insurance? Dotel was signed for just one year for $5 million. The Indians and Rockies are said to be interested and I'd probably add the Phillies to that list. Personally, I'm not sold on Dotel as a player who can flourish in a high pressure environment.

- Mike Sweeney - he's about to be 34-years old and his best days are behind him. At this point he's basically just a DH. Sweeney has spent his entire career with the Royals and is in the last year of his 5-year $55 million contract. Given that he's on the DL and expected to be out of action for most of August - I'm guessing that if he is traded it will be after the trade deadline. The Mariners or Angels may take a risk on Sweeney if they can get him in a waiver deal. Keep in mind that Sweeney can veto any trade since he's a 10/5 guy.

- Odalis Perez - the Royals would love to offload Odalis Perez but who would take his contract?

David Riske could also be on the auction blocks but I think if the Royals trade Dotel (which I think they will) that Riske slots in as the Royals closer for the rest of 2007 and maybe for 2008 (he's under contract for just $2.25 million for 2008). I also don't see them trading Zack Greinke who is still too young to give up on and who I think needs to avoid high pressure franchises like the plague.

June 15th - Big Day on the Baseball Calendar

Unless I read the baseball CBA (collective bargaining agreement) wrong - June 15th should be a big day on the baseball calendar. Unlike the NBA - you cannot do a "sign and trade" in baseball. If you sign a free agent in the off-season - you have to wait until June 15th to "assign" a player's contract to another team (i.e. trade that player). With that in mind - let's take a look at the free agents signed this off-season that may be "assigned" to another team.

The first name that comes to mind is Eric Gagne who signed a 1-year deal with the Rangers. The Rangers won't be winning anything this year and chances are the Rangers won't be able to re-sign a healthy Gagne so why wouldn't they want to trade him and save the bulk of his $6 million salary and get a prospect or two in exchange to boot? Gagne supposedly has some sort of "no-trade" language in his contract but I'm guessing that's a list of teams he will or won't agree to be traded to. There are a number of teams competing for the playoffs who need a real closer.

Danys Baez is another interesting name. He signed a 3-year $19 million deal with the Orioles but maybe someone wants to make a deal for a guy with closing experience and giving up a top prospect may be easier if the guy you are getting will be under your control for a couple of more years. Baez would rather be a closer but it looks like that won't happen in Baltimore - so maybe a change of scenery would be the best for the player and the Orioles.

Speaking of Orioles - Chad Bradford could be another middle-reliever on the block. Bradford is having a fine season (2.35 ERA and 1.26 WHIP) and the saying goes "buy low - sell high". Selling Bradford now may bring the most reward for the Orioles who should be stockpiling prospects in order to compete with the big pocketed Yankees and Red Sox. Bradford gets a $500,000 check from the Orioles if he's "assigned" to another team - so I bet he'd be all for going to a place where winning is the norm.

JD Drew could also be on the block. Just kidding. Nobody will be dumb enough to take his contract.

Alan Embree is in the middle of his second straight bounce-back season and is very effective against right-handed batters (.264 BAA and .564 OPS). I'm guessing that Billy Beane wouldn't mind flipping a 37-year old pitcher for some young prospects.

I guess you could add David Riske to the list of possibly available middle relievers with some closing experience. However, I'm not sure any playoff contending team wants the PR nightmare of trusting close games to a guy whose name is pronounced "risky".

There could be some other players available but if I was a middle-reliever or closer who signed a free agent deal this winter - I'd be sure to know where to get shipping boxes because a number of these guys will be changing addresses once June 15th comes and goes.