The Kansas City Royals traded for Johnny Cueto on Sunday, but they don’t appear to be done yet. The team needs at least one more bat, and right now, it looks like they’re focusing on replacing Omar Infante at second base. The targets? Reportedly, Martin Prado and Ben Zobrist.
#Royals showing interest in #Marlins infielder Martin Prado, sources say. Miami would need to include cash to facilitate deal.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 27, 2015
Even with Johnny Cueto on board, don't think KC is done adding. Hearing they're expected to stay in on Ben Zobrist until the end.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) July 27, 2015
Infante, who nearly became an All-Star this year in one of the biggest voting shams ever, is still owed roughly $20 million on the four year, $30.2 million contract he signed with the Royals leading into the 2014 season. This year, the 33-year old has hit a putrid .230/.243/.307 in 91 games. Last year, his line wasn’t much better at .252/.295/.337. Talk about a sunk cost….yeesh.
Prado is 31, and hasn’t been an every day second baseman since 2010…ironically, his last season as a teammate of Infante. Since then, he’s mainly taken up residence at third base and in left field, positions that are under control in Kansas City. He’s signed through 2016, and is owed roughly $16 million, though the Yankees did give the Marlins $6 million as part of their offseason trade. His first year in Miami has been a struggle, as Prado has hit just .273/.312/.369 with four homers.
Zobrist is 34, and a free agent after the season. He’s played every position aside from pitcher and catcher throughout his major league career, but has logged his most innings at second. This year with the A’s, he started slowly but has rebounded to hit .268/.354/.447 with six homers on the season.
Either would be a good fit in Kansas City because of their versatility. Picking up Prado would likely create payroll issues for Kansas City because of the salary owed to him next season, plus the salary already on the books (and looking like a sunk cost) for Infante. But it’s not as if Zobrist would end up as less of an investment for the Royals – yes he’s a free agent and yes, he’s making less money than Prado, but he’s a much more in-demand commodity and would end up costing more in terms of prospects.
Kansas City has been backed into a bit of a corner when it comes to upgrading their offense. Five of their regulars are hitting the tar out of the ball, and have posted a wRC+ above 120. Of the four others, two are young, cheap, and good defensively (Alcides Escobar, Salvador Perez), one is expensive and on a one-year deal (Alex Rios), and one is still signed for two more years on a deal looking worse and worse (Infante). They can really only upgrade at second or in right, and thanks to the solid performances of Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando while Rios has been on the shelf, second is the most logical position left to upgrade for Kansas City.
Needless to say, the Zobrist market is going to be ridiculous this week, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the market for Prado got a bit more intense as well.
