If the Royals Begin a Fire Sale…

If I had to choose one single word to describe the Kansas City Royals this season it would be the word “terrible.” Now I’m not trying to talk trash or be malicious in anyway but their record supports my word of choice and so does their play on the field. Generally, especially with a team who has a fast closing window to compete, a team that is struggling right around the July 31^st trading deadline has what we like to call in the business a “fire sale.” If the Kansas City Royals do indeed have a fire sale then I can think of at least one member of their team I’d like the Yankees to take a look at. Maybe two. Maybe more, because I’m greedy.

First base has been a thorn in the side of the Yankees all season long and the Royals have a pretty nice first baseman in Eric Hosmer, could these two teams match up for a trade this July? Hosmer isn’t hitting for much power this season, just five home runs at the time of this writing, but the Yankees first baseman haven’t been hitting at all this season. Period. Hosmer is hitting over .300 with an adequate on-base percentage of .360. The Royals are in last place in the American League Central Division and Hosmer is a free agent at the end of the season making him likely available and likely “cheap” in terms of prospects.

Hosmer is just now entering his age 27 season and if the Yankees were to acquire him and then retain him past the 2017 season he could be a huge part of the Yankees team for easily the next 5-10 seasons. There’s an argument that could be made because Greg Bird is being donned as the first baseman of the future here in the Bronx but at the same time Hosmer comes with no guarantees attached to him beyond this season. The Yankees already have Chris Carter who is splitting time at first base, and he would have to likely be traded or designated for assignment to facilitate a Hosmer trade, so it is not out of the realm of possibilities of having a platoon type situation at first base with Hosmer and Bird.

I am of the mindset that the players that make the team the best that they can be should be here. It is not on me to figure out how to make the pieces work once they get here, that’s Joe Girardi’s job. I just want a player of the caliber of Hosmer here, especially if it fills a huge hole and void on the team this season. If the Royals are selling I am definitely listening and if the price is right, which is what it always comes down to, I’m buying as well. Where do I sign?

Hypothetical Look at the 25 Man Roster After an July Fire Sale

Let’s say the New York Yankees continue to lose more than they win. Let’s say that for the first time since 1989 when the Yankees sent Rickey Henderson to the Oakland Athletics that New York would be sellers at the trading deadline. Let’s say Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman finally commit to a full blown rebuild and get real with the fans on their expectations for not only the rest of the 2016 season but the 2017 season as well. Let’s say that the Yankees get real and have a fire sale, what would the roster look like when they got done?

This is all hypothetical obviously as I don’t expect most of these players to be traded, if any at all, but let’s have some fun with it. Let’s assume that Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Aroldis Chapman, Ivan Nova and Andrew Miller are all traded away this summer. What would the Yankees have left to build around not only this season but next season as well?

You have to think the outfield would be some combination of Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury and top outfield prospect Aaron Judge with a Ben Gamel or equivalent (Jake Cave with the new found 40 man roster spot?) on the bench barring a return of an outfielder in any trade this summer.

The infield would stay the same for the most part with Robert Refsnyder taking a lot of reps at first base with Starlin Castro, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley filling out the rest. If the Yankees could move Headley I think that they would but I can’t see a team that desperate for third base help that they would come to the Yankees before going elsewhere. Headley is still useful defensively but that back and bat just seem shot to me, I could be wrong. Ronald Torreyes would stay on the bench along with Austin Romine and Chris Parmelee while Brian McCann stays behind the dish. Trading McCann may be beneficial in the short term but you want a veteran presence who knows how to handle a staff catching during a rebuild or not.

Speaking of the pitching I can see the Yankees bringing James Kaprielian up to get his feet wet assuming he’s healthy and back from elbow inflammation. If not you would have to think trading that cast of characters above would net at least a starting pitcher or two that is MLB ready to plug in behind Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. Unfortunately on the starters side the Yankees are still severely lacking in quality depth which may lead to Chad Green and Luis Cessa getting starts until Domingo Acevedo and others are ready.

In the bullpen, a bullpen that would be absolutely gutted by the way, you would have to think that Johnny Barbato comes back up to pitch some middle relief as well as Jacob Lindgren if he can ever get healthy again. The bullpen I don’t worry as much about though as the Yankees have this crazy tendency to produce solid bullpen arms year in and year on a consistent basis. Add to the fact that New York won’t have anything to play for and you have a wide open shot for any and all arms to prove themselves in the next coming years.

So there you have it. Out with the old and in with the new, and a lot of new it would be. This was nearly impossible to do accurately because no one knows what Cashman could bring back in any of these presumed trades but you would have to think the questions in depth at the starting pitching and first base positions would be solved with these trades. You would also have to think the Yankees would bring back a catcher in the deal as well to serve as insurance just in case Austin Romine or Gary Sanchez’s injuries are worse than we were led to believe. It would be a scary transition for many Yankees fans, especially myself, to see a fire sale but it would make the 2018 and 2019 Yankees so much more entertaining to watch. I’m torn whether to bite the bullet or not because I tend to hang onto hope for too long but I’m almost there this season.

The Truth Behind the Rays Fire Sale

And now we know the truth behind that Tampa Bay Rays fire sale that I was attacked on Twitter about when I said there was going to be a fire sale. About 20 players traded later, I exaggerate a tad, or let go the Rays are in the midst of a fire sale and now we may know why.

The St. Petersburg City Council rejected a deal between the Rays and the city’s Mayor for a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area. The council voted 5-3 to reject the deal after the two sides reached an agreement earlier in the week. The exact quote from Mayor Rick Kriseman was:

"St. Petersburg — and the entire Tampa Bay region — stands to lose our Major League Baseball team and receive nothing in return. This is an unfortunate outcome for St. Petersburg's taxpayers and every fan of the Rays."

The Rays are under lease with the city through the 2027 season and the plan has a payment plan established for breaking the lease starting at $4 million through 2018. The payments would have decreased to $3 million per season from 2019-2022 and $2 million from 2023-2026. Rays President Brian Auld was disappointed with the decision and released this statement, although he didn’t need to because the fire sale is all the statement we need…. Tampa is pissed and the fans are going to pay for it.

"We are obviously disappointed with the city council's decision today," Auld said. "Our goal was to begin a collaborative, exploratory process in our region to determine the best location for a next generation ballpark. The council has instead decided that the status quo is what is in the best interest of the citizens of St. Petersburg."

More on the Rays Fire Sale

Last time we spoke about the potential fire sale that is about to go on in Tampa Bay I explained how my semi sarcastic comment claiming that a house cleaning was about to go down in Tampa was killed on Twitter. Well a Joel Peralta, Jeremy Hellickson and Cesar Ramos trade later and a Jose Molina DFA rumors are starting to circulate around more potential trade happenings with the Rays.

Over the weekend my folder full of news sites that I have bookmarked were loaded with potential Rays players being put on the block by Tampa. Some of these players included Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist, and basically everyone else not named Evan Longoria and Alex Cobb (for now). This sure sounds like the team is ready to blow it up and start all over to me.

When the Rays announced two rookie managerial candidates in Raul Ibanez and Doug Glanville I knew the team was ready to start over. I just hope the person who killed me on Twitter for suggesting that it was coming after the team “traded their 7^th starter away” and a “terrible relief pitcher” see’s the error of his ways and acknowledges that maybe he isn’t the smartest Rays fan in the world. That’s all that I ask.