It’s an open secret the Kansas City Royals will be sellers at the trade deadline. And maybe long before.
Indeed, according to some MLB teams, the Royals are already active in trade discussions.
For now, the Missouri roster is mostly focused on minor trades like the one it completed Monday, acquiring right-hander James McArthur from the Philadelphia Phillies for 19-year-old outfielder Junior Marin.
But the door is not closed to bigger pacts.
And when we talk about bigger negotiations, we think of reliever Aroldis Chapman. According to some Ken Rosenthal sources, the tall left-hander was among the names mentioned during calls from general managers of the other organizations.
Chapman, who signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract, seems to have fallen into the fountain of youth, as evidenced by his fastball which averages 99.3 MPH. However, there remains a risk of his sudden loss of control.
When a trade occurs in May, it means that an aspiring club wants to pay too much. It is for this reason that the Royals are willing to listen. We can, however, expect a deal to be completed later in the season, but well before the trade deadline.
Barring a major change of course, it’s not a question of if, but rather of when.
