https://insidethecrown.substack.com/...ore-trade-talk
David Lesky
Trade Chatter
The draft is obviously incredibly important and we’re now less than a week away from that starting, but the biggest talk around the team all the way up to the August 2 deadline will be what moves the Royals make. We all know the one name who absolutely will be dealt, barring a David DeJesus-like untimely injury - Benintendi. And we know the rest of the candidates. Whit Merrifield (his health is in question now), Michael A. Taylor, Scott Barlow, Josh Staumont, Brad Keller, Zack Greinke, Hunter Dozier, Nicky Lopez and maybe a surprise or two. I reached out to someone who is a lot more connected than me who said the trade talk is very quiet, probably because of the draft, but it is starting to pick up as teams have started to get closer to their conclusion of draft work.
The consensus is that Benintendi is going to bring back a nice chunk, maybe more than a traditional rental because of the interest in him. We’ve heard about the most interest from the Yankees, Braves and Blue Jays, but there’s a pretty strong argument to be made that he also fits with the Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Twins, Guardians, Mariners, Phillies, Brewers, Cardinals and Padres. That’s nearly half of the league. My question that I really don’t know the answer to is if it’s smart to pair him with someone like Barlow to get a bigger return. Jim Bowden had a trade suggestion (and his trade ideas are often a reminder of why he is no longer a GM) of Benintendi and Barlow for Andy Pages, Gavin Stone, Jake Vogel and cash. Vogel is sort of meh to me and I might see if the Dodgers would replace Pages with Miguel Vargas, but if they wouldn’t, I’d still say yes very fast. If that’s the sort of haul that pairing Barlow with him gets, then it’s a wise choice.
But the other candidates have a lot of juice on their own merit and spreading the prospect return around might be wiser as well. Many teams would love to have Barlow. It seems to me the time to trade him is right now, though I don’t think I’m alone in doubting the Royals do it. Staumont needs to come back healthy and wouldn’t bring back as much, so maybe it’s not the worst idea to keep him for now. I’ve asked and the Keller market is quiet, but that could change as we get closer to the deadline. Greinke is in a similar spot and Lopez isn’t exactly coveted. He feels like more of an offseason trade anyway if he’s moved. But that leaves Taylor and Merrifield. Many teams are and will be interested. The Royals don’t have a center fielder ready to go, but that shouldn’t matter. They do have multiple second basemen either on the roster or close, so moving Merrifield is a no-brainer. To this point, as I said, it’s quiet, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if rumors start ramping up a lot at the end of this week and then crescendo right after the All-Star Game next Tuesday.
A Debut
All signs point to Maikel Garcia getting the callup today. By the time you read this, you might know who he replaced. Is he the 27th man because Merrifield is hurt for a couple of days and can’t play? Is Merrifield going on the IL? We’ll know that soon, but I’ll give a quick idea of what you’re going to get with Garcia. First of all, he’s Alicides Escobar’s cousin (and Ronald Acuña Jr. too) and you’re going to see a lot of Esky in him, just with more walks. I think there’s some power left to develop but not much. He has a good approach. He plays very good defense. And he can really run. He makes a ton of contact and doesn’t strike out much. I worry a bit that he’ll be overmatched by velocity in the big leagues, but he’s on the 40-man, so he’s the call for now, but I do think of Merrifield is out for an extended period of time that Michael Massey may get the call.
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