Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Some rumors had swirled about the Kansas City Royals that suggested they should sell. Other sensible sources pointed out that there was no way the Royals would go into a sell mode this season after a recent win-now trade like the one that sent Wil Myers to Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis. While they didn’t make a huge deal before the deadline the Royals did bring someone in that proved they were still not in sell mode. Who could blame them after a seven game winning streak anyway? I wouldn’t sell if I were in that spot.
Justin Maxwell has been traded from the Houston Astros to the Kansas City Royals. Maxwell has decent stats and reportedly could platoon in right field with David Lough. The two of them together will surely make a huge step forward from the struggles of the previously released and current San Francisco Giants’ Jeff Francoeur. It won’t win them the entire division all by itself but this is a move that will strengthen the offense of a team that has gotten the best pitching in baseball of late.
All in all it shows that the Royals are still interested in winning now. They might not actually complete the deal but the trade to bring in an outfielder is certainly a step in the win direction and not the selling direction. That’s a good thing because as high as people are on Myers, there could be a riot in K.C. if the team chose to have a fire-sale only months after trading their best prospect. Luckily that didn’t happen and it would be impossible to deny the roles played by Shields and Davis to help get this team to this point. They had an outside chance at winning and now that chance is a little bit stronger.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google Plus.
