Why: You can almost see it happening. The Royals are actually 27-25 since a dreadful 9-19 start to the season and could be competing if not for a nine-game home losing streak in their first games at Kauffman Stadium this season.
But as such, they sit 7.5 games behind the White Sox with two other contenders in between. The Royals have a young core forming and would be foolish to make a short term move that would spite the long term future. It's tough to be patient when that's been the word since 1985, but it's the prudent course of action this summer.
Who they can deal: Jonathan Broxton was very nearly an All-Star this year, and he's likely the first to go. He owns a shiny 2.05 ERA and 20 saves despite a sub-2.0 K/BB. The Royals may want to deal him sooner rather than later – his peripheral statistics suggest a worse pitcher than the surface statistics.
After that it's difficult to find a good player on this team who can't also contribute to the Royals' future. Perhaps Jeff Francoeur could draw some interest, but he's hitting just .257/.295/.391. Yuniesky Betancourt has five home runs in 40 games but is a butcher of a fielder and has just a .283 OBP. It might be more apt to describe the Royals as holders – they should sell, but they're lacking liquid assets.
Who they should keep: Billy Butler is around on a very reasonable contract – $16 million guaranteed through 2014 with a $12.5 million option for 2015. Mike Moustakas is breaking out as the third baseman, with 14 homers and 20 doubles. Alcides Escobar's bat is blossoming, as he's hitting .307/.351/.410 after a disastrous first two years in the majors. Alex Gordon and Sal Perez round out a solid group of young hitters.
The bullpen also looks fantastic even beyond Broxton. Kelvin Herrera, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Jose Mijares and Greg Holland all have ERAs better than the league average and are all 27 or younger.
The rotation has at least one bright spot. Felipe Paulino, a 28-year-old claimed from Colorado last season, has a 1.67 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 37.2 innings of work.
Verdict: The Royals still have a very talented farm system – Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi will be up soon – and there are some very good young players in the major leagues already. The Royals are a starting rotation away from competing, and if they can get some young pitching talent for Jonathan Broxton this summer they'll be that much closer to getting to the playoffs for the first time since the days of George Brett and Bret Saberhagen.
