[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Wilson8

Listening to 610 Radio just now. They said that Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Kansas City Royals are trying to package a deal with Aroldis Chapman and Salvador Perez.

I would be sorry to see Perez go, but if he wants out, it would be best.

https://theathletic.com/4587934/2023...ros-guardians/

As I wrote Tuesday in The Windup, The Athletic’s free daily newsletter, the Royals currently are giving teams interested in Aroldis Chapman two options, according to sources briefed on their discussions who were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly:

• Part with a better prospect package to gain control of Chapman for nearly four months of the regular season, rather than the two months a team would get by acquiring him at the trade Aug. 1 deadline.

• Accept Chapman as part of a package with another Royals player, enabling Kansas City to shed payroll while ensuring a better return in a trade.

One club that spoke with the Royals interpreted the team’s desire to attach Chapman to another player as an indication it wanted to move its highest-priced asset, catcher Salvador Pérez. But a more realistic package would be Chapman and fellow reliever Scott Barlow, a source said.

Chapman, 35 is earning $3.75 million this season on a one-year contract. Barlow, 30, is earning $5.3 million and comes with an additional year of control for any team that would be willing to offer him salary arbitration. A team that acquired both could instantly transform its bullpen. Chapman, a lefty, is holding opponents to a .556 OPS; Barlow, a righty, is holding them to a .613.

Trading Pérez, 33, would be trickier.

Pérez, the last remaining member of the Royals’ 2015 World Series championship team, possesses full no-trade protection as a player with 10 years of service, five consecutive with the same club. Batting .278 with 12 homers and an .816 OPS, he also is the team’s most likely All-Star and valuable to a young club. Too valuable to part with in a pure salary dump.

Interested teams, however, probably will not want to trade significant young talent for Pérez if they are taking on the remainder of his contract — the balance of his $20 million salary this season, a combined $42 million in 2024-25 and a $2 million buyout on a $13.5 million club option in 2026. Many teams also are reluctant to acquire catchers at the deadline and ask them to learn a new pitching staff in the middle of a season.

A Chapman-Barlow combination, then, almost certainly would be more feasible for the Royals to move, but with the deadline still nearly two months away, even that type of deal remains a longshot. The two relievers probably would bring a greater overall return if the Royals separated them at the deadline.

Only one thing seems certain: Chapman will be on the move. The only questions are when, and how.