The adage is that the pennant race doesn’t truly begin until after Memorial Day, but now that it’s June, the Royals already find themselves out of contention. The team is far back in the standings despite some intriguing talent that could be attractive to other clubs. With less than two months to go before the August 2 trade deadline, you can expect some trade rumors to swirl around the Royals.
The first rumor of the summer comes from the East Village Times in the San Diego area, where James Clark reports that the Padres are “in exploratory talks” with the Royals over left fielder Andrew Benintendi.