What About Danny Duffy and/or Eric Hosmer?

The New York Yankees are building towards the future while one other team in the American League has their future in mind for an entirely different set of reasons. While the Yankees don’t plan on putting the World Series or bust mantra back on the team’s shoulders until at least the 2018 or 2019 season the Kansas City Royals are headed in an entirely different direction. While one window opens, the Yankees window, another one closes and that closing window belongs to the Kansas City Royals. Can and should the Yankees take advantage of that?

After the 2017 season the Royals will have three integral parts of their team, barring extensions between then and now of course, hitting free agency in outfielder Lorenzo Cain, first baseman Eric Hosmer and LHP Danny Duffy. Kansas City, being the small market team that they are, presumably does not want to lose these guys for nothing in return so I wonder if it’s worth making the phone call to see if they could be had not rather than wait until July.

You are playing with fire the longer you wait to make a serious phone call and have a serious discussion with Dayton Moore and company in my opinion because Kansas City may actually compete in 2017. If the team competes and is in the hunt for an American League Central Division title, which will be likely with the Chicago White Sox selling off pieces and the Detroit Tigers at least vocal about their willingness to sell off pieces, they will not be trading these players before the July 31^st trading deadline. If you ask their GM now though he may be willing to move one or two of them, preferably Hosmer and/or Duffy in the Yankees case, now rather than risk it later.

I don’t pretend to know what the exact needs of the Royals is when it comes to their minor league system and their farm teams but I know they would want salary relief and prospects in return and that is two things the Yankees have plenty of at this point in the game. Now would I give up Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier or anyone in the Top 10 for one year of either Hosmer or Duffy? I wouldn’t personally, Brian Cashman might, but would I give them one or two prospects from the #11 - #20 spots? Sure, in a heartbeat I would. I would also try and extend a guy like Duffy as well but that’s another discussion for another blog post.

So should the Yankees and Royals begin talking? In my opinion, yes. It doesn’t hurt to ask because like the New York Lottery “hey, you never know.”

Could the Yankees Land Kendrys Morales?

The New York Yankees have a big day ahead of them and a bittersweet day at that this Friday, August 12^th as Alex Rodriguez says goodbye to the game as a player and joins the Yankees front office. While many of us, myself included, clamored for which prospect we thought would come up to replace Alex when his 25 and 40 man roster spots are cleared I got thinking outside the box a little bit today and could have possibly come up with a Plan B. According to the Yankees the team is not waving the white flag for the 2016 season and according to reports before the August 1^st trading deadline the Kansas City Royals were in fact ready to wave the white flag and sell which got me thinking, could the Yankees land Kendrys Morales for their soon-to-be vacant DH spot?

The Yankees have no reason not to believe that they are at least in the discussion for the American League’s second Wild Card while KC’s GM Dayton Moore has said on more than one occasion that he would prefer to move both Morales and RHP Edinson Volquez before the August 31^st waiver trade deadline, could the Yankees be a match? If they are truly, yet reluctantly if at all possible, all in on the idea of playing for a play-in game then Morales makes a lot of sense without sacrificing too much of the future. Morales is a switch-hitting DH that can play some first base, although you probably don’t want him to at this point, and he also is set to hit free agency after the 2016 season.

New York could presumably take on all of the salary still owed to Morales while giving up a lesser prospect in the deal. I take the Tyler Clippard for Vicente Campos as a prime example of the type of deal we’re looking at here. I for one would rather see Tyler Austin or Aaron Judge come up and get their feet wet but if the Yankees are serious about making a run at this in 2016 and they want a veteran and proven bat they may have a “buy-low’ candidate in Morales right before their eyes. All Morales has to do now is clear waivers and that sometimes is easier said than done.