Royals Acquire Danny Valencia for David Lough

The Orioles announced today they have acquired Royals outfielder David Lough in exchange for third baseman Danny Valencia.

Valencia is a 29 year old right-handed hitting third baseman who hit .304/.335/.553 in 170 plate appearances with Baltimore, splitting some time in AAA. The once promising Twins prospect had a good rookie season in 2010, hitting .311./351/.448 with 7 HR 40 RBI and finishing third in Rookie of the Year balloting. He floundered in his sophomore season hitting just .246/.294/.383 although with 15 HR 72 RBI, and by his third season he had lost his starting job and was dealt to Boston. In 1261 career MLB plate appearances, Valencia is a .263/.302/.412 hitter.

Valencia appears to be a below average fielder. He can mash lefties, hitting .329/.367/.513 in his career against southpaws, providing the Royals with an excellent platoon opportunity with the left-handed hitting Mike Moustakas.

David Lough had a breakout season with the Royals at age 27, hitting .286/.311/.413 with excellent defense and posting 2.7 WAR. The 2007 draft pick and longtime organizational soldier was probably caught in a numbers crunch when the club acquired Justin Maxwell and then Norichika Aoki, and with him out of options, the Royals had to deal him to get value for him.

Valencia is also out of options, so with Maxwell, Dyson, Bonifacio, and Hayes as the reserves on this club, its hard to see how he makes the club coming out of Arizona. Is another deal in the works?