The Royals as a Potential Trading Partner

[ramssuperbowl1999]

Based on this rumor (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/rosenthal-on-royals-uehara-dbacks-span-catching.html) regarding the Royals bullpen depth, I'm going to propose a trade that may seem wacky, but also might actually work out for both sides. The gist of the rumor, if you're really lazy, is that Kansas City only wants to trade from their ridiculous bullpen if they can also dump Jeff Francouer (presumably to make room for Wil Myers).

 

Let's help them out shall we?

 

Some noteworthy background, Francouer makes $6.75 M this year as a part of the last year of his contract (no buyout), and I'm guessing the Royals aren't going to want to send any cash along with him. That's a little pricey, but no big deal. Teams are interested in Greg Holland, the current Royals closer, but I'm actually a little more partial to Kelvin Herrera, who would presumably cost less since he's not a closer. Let's target him.

 

Kelvin Herrera and Jeff Francouer for Scooter Gennett and Fautino de Los Santos is the deal I'm propsing.

 

Why does this work for the Royals? Well, they get rid of Francouer's deal without giving up their current closer. They would presumably resign Joakim Soria, so their bullpen depth is relatively unharmed, and they also add another potential impact arm in the bullpen in de Los Santos and a potential cost controlled 2B to their lineup. Keep in mind, the Royals 2B position last year contributed -.8 WAR, so having anyone there could do wonders.

 

Why does this work for the Brewers? First and foremost, they acquire an elite reliever with 5 years of team control in Kelvin Herrera. Herrera is among the hardest throwers in baseball, with a fastball that averages in excess of 98 mph. He generates a huge number of ground balls with his wicked changeup, strikes out a good deal more, and doesn't issue walks. He's the complete package, and he's cost-controlled.

 

While Francouer seems like a complete waste of $6.75 M, he actually fits exactly what the Brewers need - a RF/LF backup who can come in and spell Nori Aoki against lefties. While he doesn't quite have the splits of Reed Johnson, he managed a .308 OBP against lefties despite a lower-than-normal BABIP in 2012. His walk rate against lefties was a quite good 10.1%, and I'd say he'd be a candidate to post an OBP around .330 or .340 with a little more pop than Aoki. While that doesn't seem like a huge upgrade from Aoki's .300 OBP against lefties, it also offers an additional, useful late inning option as a PH. Francouer has also been known as a good defender, so we wouldn't be losing much of anything there either.

 

This is the kind of deal that, seems to me at least, can help each team plug up some holes.

[StearnsFTW]

Works for me.

 

I'm not nearly as high on Gennett as a lot of others here are, and Herrera is terrific. I could swallow a year of Francouer to get Herrera.

 

I'd rather eat Francouer's contract for a year than give some reliver 3 years/$12-$15MM personally.

[DoubleSwitch]

Thats a pretty good idea. A righty CO with a little pop is pretty much the only bench piece we need to add imo so this would kill two birds with one stone. You can also count me among those who don't see what's so exciting about a second basemen who can't draw walks or hit for any power in the minor leagues.

[MVP2110]

Im definately down for this trade. Francouer fills a spot on our bench and we get a great reliever. Have to wonder if Kansas would give up Herrera though

[brewmann04]

just a question why will the Royals move Herrera

[Kelbysdaddy]

I wouldn't be surprised to see them move crow but I doubt they would trade Herrera.

[JohnBriggs12]

Johnny Giavotella is a more advanced version (both are short and can hit for average) of Gennett, hit better than Scooter in the minors and showed enough down the stretch (.264 in Sept) to go into next year as their 2B. I'm not sure they'd be all that gung ho on another under 5'10" 2B prospect like Gennett.

 

That doesn't mean the Brewers can't come up with an attractive deal, just that I doubt Gennett would generate much interest. Royals have a solid lineup. Their achilles heal was starting pitching.

[SRB]

Interesting proposal, though I'm not sure Francoeur is enough of a financial burden for them to trade Herrera (who seems pretty well regarded), and I'm not sure it makes sense for the Brewers to take on $7 million next season when they could be spending that money on a SP.

 

Given payroll constraints I think the best case scenario is to find some promising pieces off the scrap heap and hope some turn out (which, to be honest, is probably the most sensible way for bullpens to ever be put together).

 

I could even see Fautino de Los Santos being a valuable/cheap piece of the bullpen next season. Probably not as good as Herrera, but certainly much cheaper than having to waste a roster spot on Francoeur.

[reillymcshane]

Kudos to rams for thinking differently. Herrera is an interesting guy. Would love to have him.

 

It's an interesting idea, but I have to wonder if Scooter and salary relief gets it done. Scooter's a nice player and all, but he's no sure thing, and he's going to be limited in his skillset.

 

But hey, Dayton Moore signed Francouer to a big contract in the first place, so you never know.

[NievesNoNO]

Interesting thought. I like the idea from the Brewers perspective. I guess it depends on how badly the Royals want to shed Francouer and weather or not the Brewers think he'd act professionally in a bench role. He seems like a guy that would be more willing than others in similar positions in their career.

 

I get the feeling the Royals are tossing Crow and Holland out there to try and get a legit starter out of somebody. I think they'd be more interested if Fiers or Estrada were on the table.

[ramssuperbowl1999]

just a question why will the Royals move Herrera

Because they would be signing Soria, so their bullpen depth would be unharmed.

[ramssuperbowl1999]

Interesting thought. I like the idea from the Brewers perspective. I guess it depends on how badly the Royals want to shed Francouer and weather or not the Brewers think he'd act professionally in a bench role. He seems like a guy that would be more willing than others in similar positions in their career.

 

I get the feeling the Royals are tossing Crow and Holland out there to try and get a legit starter out of somebody. I think they'd be more interested if Fiers or Estrada were on the table.

I guess I'll respond to this post on the 'is it enough?' questions.

 

Obviously they'd rather have Fiers or Estrada - but you don't trade good starters for relievers as a rule of thumb. I can't imagine the Royals get the starter they might want by dangling a bullpen piece.

 

If the Royals asked for, say, Jimmy Nelson instead of Scooter, that's fine - it would still be a great move for Milwaukee. I just think Gennett is a nice fit for each side because the Royals are adamant that Christian Colon is a SS, not a 2B, and their incumbents are awful.

[MNBrew]

Escobar is awful? I don't think so. Or did you mean their 2B incumbents?

[ramssuperbowl1999]

Escobar is awful? I don't think so. Or did you mean their 2B incumbents?

Their 2B incumbents. Chris Getz and Co.

[endaround]

The problem is that Moore likely doesn't think Francouer is a salary dump but actually worth $6.75m

[KCBrewerfan34]

With the Royals signing Guthrie and trading for Santana and shopping Myers for a top of the rotation starter doesn't strike me as a team looking to shed any perceived assets to save money. The Royals are spending money, just not sure if the money they spent was wise.

[JohnBriggs12]

Escobar is awful? I don't think so. Or did you mean their 2B incumbents?

Their 2B incumbents. Chris Getz and Co.

 

Giavotella, a high 2nd rounder has posted .331/.397/.477 over the past 2 years at AAA and he turned 25 in July. He's not been given a full trial yet at the major leagues. I don't think they'd look at Gennett as the better prospect.