The Kansas City Royals finished the first half of the 2015 MLB season with the best record in the American League, but that doesn't mean that they won't be the market for a blockbuster before the MLB trade deadline on July 31st. Here are three potential trades they could make:
Trade top prospects to Reds for Johnny Cueto
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Royals are one of three teams currently going all-in in hopes of landing one of the season's most talked about trade assets, Cincinnati Reds RHP Johnny Cueto:
Three three teams who have been most aggressive in pursuit of #Reds Cueto: #Astros, #BlueJays, #Royals.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 14, 2015
Cueto would be a cheap half-season rental for the Royals, with less than half of his reasonable $10 million salary for 2015 left on the books. That's a major bargain for a Royals team prone to budget shoppingfor impact deadline acquisitions.
The 29-year-old Dominican Republic native has once again been stellar in 2015, posting a 2.73 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 113 strikeouts against 22 walks in 118.2 innings pitched (17 starts). He was the subject of trade rumors last year as well, but he's more likely to be moved by the struggling Reds in the final year of his current contract.
Trade prospects to Athletics for Ben Zobrist
It's no secret that the Oakland A's will be active as a seller before the July 31st MLB trade deadline, especially with GM Billy Beane's extensive track record for facilitating quick, whirlwind overhauls.
Beane loves trading players for numerous prospects, and expect him to do something similar with Zobrist. Kansas City has already had conversations with Oakland about Zobrist after Alex Gordon's injury, but this move won't happen unless they miss out on Cueto.
Trade prospects to Marlins for Dan Haren
Miami isn't expected to hold a firesale at the deadline, but moving one of their most appealing trade pieces in Haren could be on the horizon.
Marlins manager Dan Jennings said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Dan Haren has been drawing interest and is “certainly someone teams have been asking about.”
The Royals will certainly throw everything they have at Cueto, but a lot of other teams plan to as well. If they miss out on him, Haren is a second-tier option on the trade market they could get for cheaper.
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