Offsetting Some Royals Salary
The Royals claim to be up against it, and maybe they are, so how can they clear some cash? It's easy!
One of the fun things about writing about winning baseball for the last two years is that I’ve gotten to focus on adding players and who will make the Royals better. Dreaming on trades of big leaguers for prospects is fun, but trading for guys who can slot into the lineup or get on the mound in the next few days is even more fun. But the state of baseball is what it is, which means the Royals are operating on a budget while other teams are playing in a different financial league.
As such, the Royals could probably add salary without making any moves. Heck, the Matt Strahm deal seemed to come together quickly and that included ownership approval for his contract. But things would be a little easier for JJ Picollo and his team if they had some more wiggle room. I know what you’re thinking, and I agree with you. They’d have $8 million in wiggle room if they hadn’t signed Jonathan India. They would. And they’d probably have about $3 million in projected wiggle room if they’d non-tendered Bailey Falter. You’re not wrong there. There’s probably another $1.5 million to $2 million if they’d non-tendered Daniel Lynch IV too. But what’s done is done. Now I want to look to see what they can do to dump a little money and give them a shot.
A shot for what, you might ask? Anything really. The Cardinals, for example, are not likely to be looking for big leaguers making any real money in a trade that sends Brendan Donovan away. Sure, he’s not projected to make much, but $5+ million is more than five times the minimum salary. Maybe they want to enter the Bo Bichette sweepstakes, given that it seems like nobody has actually made the guy who is a pretty perfect fit on the Royals roster a priority. Or maybe it’s still about getting Jarren Duran and his $7.7 million salary. And hey, it could be a player we haven’t even thought about seriously before.