The long anticipated Kansas City Royals fire sale has officially started. According to Rustin Dodd of The Athletic, Kansas City has traded veteran outfielder Jon Jay to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for two prospects.
The Royals have traded Jon Jay to Arizona for two minor-league pitchers — RHP Elvis Luciano, 18, and RHP Gabe Speier, 23. Luciano will got to Burlington; Speier to Northwest Arkansas.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) June 7, 2018
Jay, 33, has put in a tremendous season for the Royals thus far. He entered Wednesday’s action hitting a robust .308 with a .363 on-base percentage. While Jay lacks from the power standpoint (one homer in 2017), he has posted a .290-plus average in each of the past two seasons.
This moves comes with Kansas City boasting a 21-40 record on the season and completely out of the American League Central race. Meanwhile, Arizona is looking for reinforcements on offense having entered Wednesday’s action with a one-game lead over Colorado in an ultra competitive NL West.
Of the two players heading to Kansas City in this deal, Elvis Luciano is the most notable. He entered the season as Arizona’s 26th-best prospect, according to MLB.com.
The 18-year-old Dominican native has yet to see action this season, but pitched to a 2.84 ERA with in three different lower level minor league stops as a first-year professional last season.