Tagged: Zack Greinke

Player Market: Zack Greinke

It is possible the Royals decide to shop Zack Greinke. If he is available, there will be lots of suitors. Lets take a look at some.

Royals (frontrunners)  Unless there is a knock-out offer, he’ll stay. The Royals think they can contend within the next two years, and know they’ll need Greinke. They’d also have to exhaust all contract negotiations. I think Zack will be in Royal blue next season.

Rangers (possible)  I don’t think there is any frontrunner to aquire this guy; he’s too good. If he is available, look for the Rangers to be very interested. They have a huge catcher surplus and the need at starting pitching. They could offer Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a pitching prospect like Michael Main. Engel Beltre could also be included in the deal if need be. These two teams match up very well if Greinke becomes available.

Braves (possible)  If the Braves strike-out on some of the top free agent starters, don’t be surprised to see them go hard after Greinke. It’s possible the Royals would have interest in Jeff Francoeur because of Dayton Moore. He’d be a throw-in, however. You’d think a package would have to be headed by Jordon Schafer. The Royals would definatly like to add a center fielder and then move David DeJesus to a corner. In fact, DeJesus could be part of the deal if the Royals could get a great prospect like Jason Heyward or Tommy Hanson in return. This is definatlty a deal that could happen if both sides are willing to trade. 

Cardinals (unlikely)  Because the Cards have such a great catching prospect, I had to name them. They could package a deal around Bryan Anderson. The only problem is other parts. Maybe they add Jamie Garcia, but he’s going to have Tommy John surgery. I don’t think the Royals would want Chris Perez since they have so many good relievers. I don’t know if the Cardinals would give him up, anyway. I guess they could attemp a quantity over quality deal, but it’s not likely the Royals accept. If the Cards had more prospects than just Anderson and the untouchable Colby Rasmus, a deal could get done. Too bad they don’t.

Dodgers (unlikely)  They have a couple of guys that could appeal Kansas City, but I don’t think the Royals would trade Zack Greinke for Chin-Lung Hu and James McDonald. They’d get a shorstop and a pitcher, but these are not the type of guys you trade Greinke for. I don’t find this trade very likely.

Rockies (dark horse)  How about this for a blockbuster. Zack Greinke traded straight up for Matt Holliday. The Rox want to add a top-of-the-rotation starter, and Greinke fits the bill. The Royals have been stated before as a possible dark horse suitor for Holliday. I know it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’s something you can think about for fun this afternoon.

Could the Royals Move Joakim Soria to the Rotation or Another Team?

This has been a widely talked about topic between Royals fans. Should the Royals move Joakim Soria to the rotation or keep him in the bullpen? Or, maybe even trade him. I think they should move him into the rotation for many reasons. He could be more effective in the rotation because he can throw 210 innings instead of 70. Thats three times as much. He throws a low 90’s fastball, and after stretching his arm out, he’ll probably fall down to the high 80’s range. But, he has four pitches. Since he doesn’t have overpowering stuff, he won’t be an ace, but at least a solid #3 with #2 potential. I’d take 210 innings of 4:00 ERA ball rather than 70 innings of 2:30 ERA ball. Another reason is that Dayton Moore has shown that he can find bullpen help. They had a good bullpen this year because of all of Moore’s finds. Joakim Soria was even found through the rule 5 draft. If Dayton finds one or two good cheap relievers, then the bullpen won’t lose that much. Some people think that Joakim might do what Jonathan Paplebon did. Fail at the rotation and move back to the bullpen. But, he could do what Ryan Dempster did. Get even better in the rotation. If he got even better he would be a Cy Young contender. I think there’s no risk involved. If they truly don’t think Soria could become a good starter, they could trade him. Maybe to the Angels for Jered Weaver. The Angels get a lights-out closer to replace Francisco Rodriguez, and open up a rotation spot to go after Jon Garland or CC Sabathia. The Royals get their number three starter. I’d rather keep Soria, though. Think of how good a rotation of Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Joakim Soria, Kyle Davies, and Brian Banister/Luke Hochevar would be. That rotation could contend. Also, they fix the rotation without spending any money, so then they could go out and sign a shortstop or a power bat to solidify the lineup. Lastly, they need to extend Greinke. If they want to contend, they’ll need him under contract. This team could be a sleeper if they make the right moves.

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Trade Market

I am going to make a trade market post, where I put down all the meaningful players on the trade block. I will put this in order of how good the players are the same way I did it in the Free Agent Market series. There will be a link on the players I have done in my player market series. Any player already traded will be underlined. This will be a sidebar link.

 

Catcher

  • Bengie Molina
  • Jarrod Saltalamacchia
  • Gerald Laird
  • Kelly Shoppach (If the Indians keep Victor Martinez at catcher)
  • Ramon Hernandez

First Base

Second Base

  • Dan Uggla
  • Brian Roberts
  • Kelly Johnson (Only if Braves rebuild)

Shorstop

  • JJ Hardy
  • Jack Wilson

Third Baseman

Left Field

  • Matt Holliday
  • Rick Ankiel
  • Randy Winn
  • Josh Willingham
  • Juan Pierre

Center Field

  • David DeJesus
  • Rick Ankiel
  • Randy Winn
  • Juan Pierre

Right Field

  • Brian Giles (Only if the club option gets picked up)
  • Rick Ankiel
  • Randy Winn

Designated Hitter

Aubrey Huff

Starting Pitching

  • Roy Halladay (Only in the Blue Jays decide to rebuild)
  • Jake Peavy (Only if blown away)
  • Zack Greinke (Only if blown away)
  • Matt Cain (Only if blown away)
  • Nick Blackburn (Only for a good, young hitter)
  • Edwin Jackson (Only him or Sonnanstine)
  • Jonathan Sanchez (Only for a good, young, hitter)
  • Andy Sonnanstine (Only him or Jackson)
  • Scott Olsen

Relief Pitching

  • Huston Street
  • George Sherrill
  • Ron Mahay
  • Kevin Gregg
  • BJ Ryan

 

You can see there are not many so far. I will update this as I think of more.

Offseason Plan: Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals need to rebuild. They are trying to win by next year. After next year two of their key players, Zack Grienke and Jose Guillen, are free agents. The following year, David DeJesus, Gil Meche, and others reach free agency. I don’t think they should be very active in free agency. Some have said they are going to be looking for a shortstop, but they have Matt Aviles. If they want to move him to second base, they have Alberto Callapso for shortstop. They do need a first baseman, and could use a starter and a reliever. I think they should be selling off pieces. Ron Mahay should defiantley be traded. He could fetch a good pitching propsect for him. Maybe trade him to the Phillies for Kyle Kendrick or AJ Happ and Jason Donald. DeJesus, Guillen, Grienke, and Meche could be moved if they right deal comes along. They need to build aroung the time when they will have Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakes, and Matt Aviles or Alberto Callapso. Their offense will be raking about that time. Try to extened Zack Grienke, he’s the one player they shouldn’t trade unless they have to. So the Royals could spend in free agency and try to compete by next year, or they could start over again and wait to build aroung guys like Gordon, Butler, Hosmer, and Moustakes. They have to chose.