‘Royals are pulling out all the stops:’ Reaction to Melky Cabrera trade
The Royals’ winning streak ended at nine games on Saturday night in Boston, but obviously that’s not why general manager Dayton Moore made a big trade Sunday.
The goal remains the same for Moore: a third playoff appearance in four season for the Royals.
On Sunday, the Royals traded for outfielder Melky Cabrera, sending a pair of minor-league pitchers to the Chicago White Sox.
The consensus from experts is that the Royals made a good addition to the team.
Josh Norris of Baseball America wrote: “After winning the World Series in 2015, the Royals are pulling out all the stops to reach the pinnacle once more. Earlier this month they fortified their pitching staff by adding Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer and Trevor Cahill from San Diego, and on Sunday afternoon added a little bit of punch to their lagging outfield.
“With Alex Gordon and Brandon Moss slumping this year, the Royals pulled the trigger and welcomed outfielder Melky Cabrera back into the fold...”
Rival scout on the Melky Cabrera acquisition: "They got the most bang for their buck on this one while keeping their top prospects."
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) July 30, 2017
Also props to #Roayls for trying to have 1 last hurrah with its core. Melky is switch-hitter who can handle good pitching.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2017
Yahoo’s Chris Cwik wrote: “The Royals could use a boost on offense. The club ranks 22nd in the majors with a 90 wRC+, an advanced stat that measures offensive performance. Cabrera has typically been used in left field, and could cut into Alex Gordon’s playing time. Gordon, 33, is hitting just .201/.294/.296 over 362 plate appearances. He’s been one of the worst regulars in the majors this season.”
Congratulations to the Royals on acquiring one of the game's most underrated players, Melky.
— Bill James Online (@billjamesonline) July 30, 2017
The #Royals giving themselves every fighting chance to win thejr third Pennant in four years with Melky Cabrera giving them nice options
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 30, 2017
Matthew Trueblood of Baseball Prospectus wrote: “Kansas City is threading a needle here, and if they don’t get it exactly right, there are a fair few losing seasons between them and the playoffs again. Of course, if they do get it exactly right, they might end up in the playoffs again this year, and then everything feels a little bit different. ...
“After this season, Royals fans will still have Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy, and (perhaps to their chagrin) Alex Gordon to remind them of those World Series runs, but the rest of the stars will likely be gone. While they’re still around—while this team whose commitment to winning the fans reciprocated, and then some, is still mostly out there in the home colors at Kauffman Stadium—the front office and ownership groups have to be sensitive to what any move means. Even if they were only on the very fringe of contention, selling off the core like spare parts would have been a bad look, and since they’re legitimate contenders now, failing to support them with additions to the roster would also have gone over like a lead balloon.”
Good on the Royals to pick up Melkington. Royals should approach deadline as if they know a giant meteor will strike the earth in January.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 30, 2017
Pete Grathoff: 816-234-4330, @pgrathoff
This story was originally published July 30, 2017 at 2:50 PM.