The Kansas City Royals needed starting rotation help even before Yordano Ventura was demoted to Triple-A and Jason Vargas went down with a torn UCL. A number of potential names on the trade market have entered the discussion for Kansas City.
Royals' general manager Dayton Moore told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com that the team isn't under pressure to make deals before the deadline even with the losses of Vargas and outfielder Alex Gordon.
"We don't feel like it's a must that we go out and add to this team we have right now," Moore said. "If there's something that really makes sense for us, we'll try to execute. But it would have to really be the right fit and it would depend on the acquisition cost."
However, rumors suggest they're interested in a number of pitchers in hopes of improving their 4.32 starters' ERA, which ranks 23rd in the MLB. Some of those names include Johnny Cueto, Yovani Gallardo, Mike Leake, Jeff Samardzija, Dan Haren and Mat Latos, according to ESPN Insider Jim Bowden and FOX Sports' Jon Morosi.
"The Royals have been active in their pursuit of an additional starting pitcher, according to people familiar with the situation, and the season-ending ulnar collateral ligament tear of Jason Vargas only heightened their need for upgrades," writes Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. "Cueto, a 29-year-old right-hander who will become a free agent after this season, appears to be the Royals' top target."
On Wednesday's Baseball Tonight Podcast, both McCullough and Tim Kurkjian of ESPN said the Royals are more likely to chase a "second tier" pitcher available in a trade, such as Leake, Haren and Latos.
While that very well could be the case because the acquisition cost for the top tier guys will not be cheap, Bowden says Kansas City is "all in" on Cueto and prepared to move a top prospect while Morosi indicated their interest in Gallardo. Both starters are impending free agents. The Royals' interest in Cueto is no surprise because it's been brought up in various trade rumors, but Gallardo is new to the discussion and was first mentioned by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Bowden says Kansas City is not looking at Gallardo, but nothing can be ruled out until 4:00 p.m. on July 31.
The Royals might be limited at the deadline, though, because there are a number of other suitors looking for starters on the market. Additionally, the Royals do not have a particularly deep farm system where they could put together a package of young players without surrendering their top talent, which could affect their potential acquisition of a top starter such as Cueto or Gallardo.
Despite sitting atop the American League, Kansas City has a glaring need in their rotation and they'll need to address that if they want to make another run at the World Series.
Moore has a week to do so, but it could happen well before then since Scott Kazmir was already traded to the Houson Astros on Thursday.
