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Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan
If they don't get Hosmer signed, I would still say it's less likely they unload everything. That's just not the way you "rebuild". You always keep some key pieces - especially affordable ones and guys that can positively influence club-house culture. Would Duffy, Salvy, Merrifield or Hererra get traded? Maybe one of them. It's more likely we would see smaller deals for vets like Hammel, Maurer, Buchter, Soria or even younger guys like Cuthbert, Alexander, Bonifacio and Soler, because we have alternatives in the minors.
Keep in mind, "focused on re-stocking" the minor leagues does not necessarily mean trading every marketable player for top-5 prospects from other orgs - especially if you've paid attention to Dayton's recent history. It would likely be some combination of smaller deals, trading for draft pool and international money along with maybe one "big" deal.
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As DJ pointed out, shipping off all assets that won't be around to help in your next contention window IS the best route to rebuilding these days.
Whether they get there depends on what happens with Hosmer, IMO, because with him, you can project having Hosmer, Perez, Duffy, Merrifield, and a few others to build around as a contending team in 2019, 2020.
Without him, it's hard to see the rebuild being that short. You're looking more at 2021 as the hopeful start of the next wave/window.
I think they're open to moving anyone if Hosmer signs elsewhere. I think it's highly, highly likely now that at least Soria and Herrera are moved, regardless. With Scott Alexander and Whit Merrifield, you have so much control of them still that KC could hold them. I think Alexander would fetch a nice return, though maybe not as nice of one as he would return at the deadline if he's sitting on 15-20 saves and has shown the same dominance and crazy groundball tendencies he did in 2017.
The real questions are Duffy and Perez. It would be very tough from a PR perspective to move them, but they're hugely valuable chips and would do more than anyone else to rebuild the team.
Duffy's value would be somewhere close to Jose Quintana's when the white sox moved him. Perez's return would have to be monumental for the team to be able to do it.
I do agree that Hammel will be on the block and they'll shop him hard.
Moore's recent history doesn't matter if he's going into rebuild mode. The moves you make when you're trying to rebuild are entirely different than the ones you make when you're trying to supplement and fill in the final pieces for a team set up to contend.