Aviles may attract interest

The Kansas City Royals should be in full sell mode this month, and infielder Mike Aviles may be the most attractive big-league trade chip the club has to offer, thanks in part to the injuries beset on two championship caliber teams in the East.

Aviles has done his part since missing nearly all of April, posting numbers above the league average for a middle infielder, including a .322 batting average.

Where Aviles fits most might be in Boston or Philadelphia, where both clubs are missing their star second basemen. Aviles' ability to handle shortstop could be of great value to both clubs and create interest from other teams as well.

Aviles will not be arbitration eligible until after the 2011 season at the earliest, which can only help his trade value.

Other clubs that could make the call to Kansas City include the Colorado Rockies, who are currently without shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for another month, and the New York Mets, where Luis Castillo remains on the disabled list amidst an uninspiring season at the plate.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney wrote Thursday that Aviles could be a natural fit for Boston.

OLNEY: "What follows is pure speculation: Mike Aviles of the Kansas City Royals might make some sense, and Royals general manager Dayton Moore and [Red Sox GM Theo] Epstein have a history of deal-making. Mike Fontenot could be a fit, too. Ty Wigginton of the O's could be interesting, although those intradivision deals are always very difficult."

SOURCE: ESPN Insider

almost 2 years ago JobDDT 18 comments 0 recs |

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Obviously pure speculation, but...

I thought it accompanied the Bert speculation posted earlier well. I’d be upset if Aviles left, but this organization has never been very fond of him for whatever reason. His situation always reminds me of Leo Nunez, who they couldn’t wait to trade (even trying to dump him for Milton Bradley’s expiring contract during a lost season).

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by JobDDT on Jul 1, 2010 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

I go back and forth on Aviles

OTOH, he’s cheap, has some power and seems to hold his own on defense.

OTOH, his minor league track record is spotty and he seems to be BABIP lucky, suggesting he may be a fluke, his plate discipline is pretty bad, his body type suggests his defense will likely decline quickly, and the Royals don’t seem to feature him in long-term plans anyway.

So I guess I lean towards saying if you can get something decent for him, flip him.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 1, 2010 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

perhaps most importantly

he’s 29

I’m not sure if the Royals could get back anything that would help them much more in the future than Aviles — if I was Boston, I wouldn’t give up much for him. But it’s worth a try.

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by Matt Klaassen on Jul 1, 2010 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

I forgot he was that old. Move him on out.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 1, 2010 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

On the other hand

he’s the only guy in the organization who might be able to play acceptable MLB shortstop until Colon is ready (assuming Colon sticks at short)

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by Matt Klaassen on Jul 1, 2010 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions

more exactly

I mean, if some team really wants to give up a B prospect for him, by all means, let’s do it. I have a hard time imagining that, but you never know.

On the other hand, I’m not sure a C prospect (unless it’s a guy who has some upside that’s been hinder by some issue or something) is really going to balance out the organizational embarrassment of not having a SS at all. Then again, we’ve lived with it for most of the last two seasons, and most of the years before that, too.

Then again, if they refuse to play him full time (sigh) on the middle infield, might as well trade him for a young guy that will be around after Dayton & Co. are forming a independent consuling group with Ruben Amaro and Omay Minaya.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs and Beyond the Box Score.

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by Matt Klaassen on Jul 1, 2010 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions

We have Betancourt

Look you don’t like him, I don’t like him, but he’s going to be our SS until the end of his contract – which runs out about the time Colon should be ready.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 1, 2010 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I just don't see Aviles bringing back

more in value than he will bring by staying on the Royals’ ML roster as the everyday (or most every day) 2B and (Klaassen-style sigh) backup SS. The complete and utter lack of SS depth in the minors makes keeping him more sensible than it would be otherwise.

I just wish that we could bring the shortened basepaths that they have in Omaha down to KC so they wouldn’t have to worry about Mike making those long major league SS throws.

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by Sweep_the_Leg on Jul 1, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I just wish that we could bring the shortened basepaths that they have in Omaha down to KC so they wouldn’t have to worry about Mike making those long major league SS throws.

Nice! i forgot they play on a T-Ball diamond up there. No wonder Kila gets HRs

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nevermind

by who am i? on Jul 1, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions