Kansas City Royals Should Trade Rather Than Waste Assets

(Photo by Pool/Getty Images)

Once again, the Kansas City Royals have entered the portion of their season when they are more than 10 games out of first place and they become sellers in the race to get rich before the trading deadline. 

Every year, the haves (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc.) try to add the final piece of the puzzle, while the have-nots (Pirates, Royals, Angels, etc.) attempt to feast on the multiple prospects that they take in payment for the measly established talent they have managed to acquire.

This year in the sellers sweepstakes, the Royals, past sellers of Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran, and Jermaine Dye (just to name a few), once again have plenty of first-rate talent on a team with absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. 

To begin, Joakim Soriah is a first-rate closer. So far this season he has saved 14 of his teams' 37  wins. He also has 30 strikeouts in only 24 innings of work. Without a doubt, there are several major league teams that would benefit from Soriah's services—the Dodgers and Rangers being two teams that immediately come to mind.

Along those same lines, Zach Greinke has matured into, arguably, the best starter in the American League. He won eight games before picking up his first loss and has been dominant recently, giving up only one run to the Rays over seven innings on Saturday. Right now, his value is at a peak, because his performance in the All-Star Game, putting away the three batters he faced in short order, is still fresh in the minds of most big-league general managers. 

So there it is, the two Royals with the most value on the trade market. Why should they be traded? 

They are being wasted otherwise.

The Rockies' Jason Marquis was the first 12-game winner in the majors. He shouldn't have been. Greinke has been shorted on several occasions by both his bullpen and the Royals' bats. Were he to pitch for a team like the Phillies, he would easily have another three-to-five wins in his 19 appearances. 

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?