At 18-42 heading into Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins, it’s safe to assume that the Kansas City Royals are going to be sellers ahead of the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline.
Kansas City has already been linked to trade discussions surrounding star closer Aroldis Chapman. With Chapman playing under a one-year contract, there’s really no need for him in Kansas City. Save opportunities have been few and far between for the last-place team.
However, this most-recent note courtesy of Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic involving Kansas City’s longest-tenured player is even more interesting.
“One club that spoke with the Royals interpreted the team’s desire to attach Chapman to another player as an indication it wanted to move its highest-priced asset, catcher Salvador Perez,” Report on Kansas City Royals MLB trade deadline plans.
Kansas City entered the 2023 season ranked 23rd in MLB with a payroll of $94.38 million. In his 13th season with the Royals, Perez accounts for $20 million of that. Obviously, moving him makes sense from a financial standpoint.
With that said, simply selling off the remainder of Perez’ contract in a salary dump would be hard given the Royals’ young rotation and his ability to handle them from behind the plate. Perez, 33, also has two years remaining on his contract at $43 million with a team option for the 2026 season. Given his still stellar play, the seven-time All-Star should be seen as an asset by himself.
- Salvador Perez stats (2023): .282 average, 12 HR, 34 RBI, .828 OPS
Related: Ideal trade destinations for Kansas City Royals closer Aroldis Chapman
Kansas City Royals trade deadline plans
As a pending free agent, Chapman is the likeliest of Kansas City’s big-name players to be moved. The seven-time All-Star has performed well this season (2.95 ERA, 14.8 K’s per nine innings). He should net a decent return even as a rental.
Moving Perez would be a different story. He’s the only player remaining from Kansas City’s 2015 championship team. However, he could help the Kansas City Royals expand a Chapman trade to bring in even more assets. That has to be the goal for a team that’s on a 113-loss pace.
The San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are among contending teams that could have need at catcher ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Adding a late-inning arm in Chapman would just be icing on the cake.