The KC Royals dealt for outfielder Jonny Gomes on Monday. On Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals announced that reliever Kelvin Herrera and right fielder Alex Rios were suffering from chickenpox and were expected to miss two weeks.
I doubt this timing was any accident. The KC Royals front office had to be aware of Alex Rios affliction before they made the Jonny Gomes deal, but kept the issue quiet to prevent teams from using Kansas City’s sudden need for an outfielder as leverage in trade talks.