Royals not motivated to trade key pieces of major-league roster
Several Kansas City Royals made clearly quantifiable strides in 2019. All-star infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield characterized it as several players taking “big steps forward in their career.”
Players enjoyed career years statistically. They set franchise records and accomplished feats not seen in decades. Despite it all, the club endured a second consecutive 100-loss season.
As the they continue to build toward fielding a contending team, Royals general manager Dayton Moore isn’t inclined to trade off pieces of the club’s recently established core.
At this week’s MLB Winter Meetings, Moore has expressed a strong reluctance to ship out his best players, including names that have surfaced in trade rumors — such as Merrifield and left-handed pitchers Danny Duffy and Tim Hill.
“We’re meeting with a lot of agents. We’re not having a ton of discussions with other teams right now (regarding trades),” Moore said. “We’re not because we’re holding onto our guys. We could execute some deals for sure, but they’re more prospect-oriented.
“Whit Merrifield has led the world in hits the last two years. Jorge Soler is the home run king. (Adalberto Mondesi) is so dynamic he’s capable of doing a lot of different things. We’re holding onto that core.”
Moore went on to say the club expects better production out of first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, and the organization remains optimistic about getting a productive Gold Glove catcher and Silver Slugger Award winner Salvador Perez back from injury. The Royals also think infielder Nicky Lopez has the potential to produce at a higher level.
Moore spoke of the intangible benefits of having Merrifield, who has garnered interest from other teams, remain a part of the Royals’ future.
“I’ve always believed that you have to have strong examples of how to conduct yourself as a Major League Baseball player,” Moore said. “Whit Merrifield provides that example. You can’t necessarily quantify what that means to the future of the team.
“But when you know you’re going to be transitioning a lot of young players to your 26-man roster of the next few years, guys like Whit Merrfield are important to help establishing winning.”
This season, Merrifield topped the majors in hits (206) and became the first hitter to lead the majors in hits in back-to-back seasons since Ichiro Suzuki in 2006-10. Merrifield is also the first right-handed batter to lead the majors in hits for consecutive years since Kirby Puckett did so in 1988-89.
Merrifield also scored 105 runs, racked up 67 extra-base hits and registered a .463 slugging percentage along with an .811 OPS in 162 games.
The Oakland Athletics reportedly have expressed interest in Hill, a left-handed side-arming reliever. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Athletics tried to acquire him in July.
Hill held opponents to a .217 batting average, sixth-best among left-handed pitchers in the American League in 2019. He also held left-handed batters to a .186 batting average.
The Royals’ bullpen ranked 14th in the AL in ERA, and had the third-fewest holds in the AL and second-lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.01-1). So the idea of trading one of its most steady performers from an area of weakness isn’t overwhelmingly appealing.
“We’re trying to add to our bullpen, not detract from our bullpen,” Moore said.
As far as some of the club’s highest-priced contracts go, Moore said bluntly that the Royals are “just not prepared to do that right now.”
While Duffy’s name came up in reports leading into this week’s meetings, Moore expressed confidence that Duffy‘s performance will improve as he approaches the end of his contract (he’s signed through 2021).
Of course, Moore would not completely close the door on trade possibilities. With the right offer from a counterpart, anything could go from highly unlikely to a viable option.
“There’s no player on this roster, there’s no player in this organization, that is untouchable if you get the right type of deal,” Moore said. “You have to be open-minded and responsible to the process.”
