The Royals are aggressively shopping right-handed starting pitcher Luke Hochevar and left-handed starting pitcher Bruce Chen in an attempt to free up salary to use to acquire pitching, according to YahooSports.com's Jeff Passan.

The Royals have already made two moves to improve the rotation, signing Jeremy Guthrie and trading for Ervin Santana.

However, the team is reportedly considering trading top prospect Wil Myers for either Jon Lester or James Shields, but budgetary limits are a potential roadblock to a deal.

Hochevar, 29, went 8-16 with a 5.73 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 144 strikeouts in 185 1/3 innings in 2012. The former first-overall pick made $3.51 million in 2012 and has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Chen, 35, went 11-14 with a 5.07 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 140 strikeouts in 191 2/3 innings in 2012. He will make $4.5 million in 2013 in the second year of a two-year deal.

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