FanPost

A trade proposal that could jumpstart the rebuild

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We all know the old saying "The hot stove is always hottest on Presidents Day weekend" and this year was no exception. There were a few big signings, a couple big trades, and a curious DFA by the Rays. The Royals, who lucked out in not signing Hosmer (did you hear?), are now unofficially officially in rebuild mode, and may be able to take advantage of the situation with trades and salary dumps. Here's my idea:

Royals send Whit Merrifield + Kelvin Herrera to the Diamondbacks for Yasmany Tomas, Jon Duplantier, Daulton Varsho, and Jasrado Chisholm

The Diamondbacks improved a lot this weekend by adding Jarrod Dyson and Stephen Souza, but they still have holes. The bullpen is projected to be in the bottom half of the league and they could use another late-inning reliever. They're also projected to get the worst production in the majors at 2B as Chris Owings should be a utility guy, not an everyday 2B. Despite those holes, PECOTA likes the Diamondbacks quite a bit, projecting them for a 89 win season after adding Dyson and Souza. With AJ Pollock poised to leave after this year, and the Dodgers poised to reload once they reset their luxury tax, 2018 could be the best opportunity the Diamondbacks have at making a deep run in the playoffs. Adding Whit and Herrera could bump them up another 2-3 wins, which might solidify the D'Backs' status as wildcard front-runners, and even get them within a lucky break of stealing the division from the Dodgers.

One key aspect of this trade for the two cost-conscious teams is that it is more or less payroll neutral in 2018, while providing a salary dump for the D'Backs of Tomas's 2019 and 2020 salary obligations of $15.5 million and $17 million. That extra money might come in handy as they try to extend their window through Goldschmidt's departure in 2019 and the departures of Walker, Lamb, Ray, Peralta, and Souza in 2020. None of the proposed prospects are going to be MLB ready this year, and even 2020 would be optimistic for Varsho and Chisholm, so if you're gonna mortgage the future, those guys would be good candidates for a Diamondbacks team that appears to have a 3 year window. .

In return, the Royals get most of the prized jewels left in the Diamondbacks barren farm system, collecting the #1, #3, and #4 prospects per Baseball America ( #1, #4, and # 6 prospects per John Sickels at Minor League Ball). None of them have gotten past A+ ball yet, so they are a ways away, but they offer some high-end prospect talent at the high-value positions of starting pitcher, catcher and shortstop.

Duplantier, 23, is a former 3rd round pick out of Rice who had a dominant year in low A and high A, but comes with durability/injury concerns. He is a top 100 prospect going into 2018 according to Baseball America (#73), Fangraphs (#88), KATOH (#87) and MLB.com (#73). Varsho, 21, is a 2017 compensation pick who tore up Low A ball in his first half-season of professional baseball - he has a long ways to develop but has all the tools except for a good throwing arm. He ranked #75 in KATOH's top 100. Chisholm goes by the name Jazz. He is also a young, toolsy prospect out of Bermuda who might be able to stick at short, swings hard and hits the ball hard, but also swings hard and misses. Though individually very different, each of them represents a high-ceiling, high-risk prospect that the Royals' system is almost entirely devoid of.

The Royals also get Tomas, who, despite his shortcomings in the field and on the bases, is a decent hitter in general and a very good hitter against lefties. He's best suited for a DH spot and, at the age of 27, it's not absurd to hope that a change of scenery could help him tap into the talent and become a productive player again.

The Royals lose their best bullpen piece and their best position player, but Herrera is a free agent after this year, and Whit is a year away from his age 30 season when father time will start subtracting WAR from this generation of millennial ball-players. It's hard to imagine how either would contribute to the next competitive Royals team which likely won't come again til 2022 or later.

I think both sides could object to this deal - Royals fans arguing that an above-average cost-controlled player like Whit is worth a top 100 guy and more by himself. While D'Backs fans clamor that they just got Souza, who's more productive and younger than Whit, for one top prospect, so they shouldn't have to give up 3 for Herrera and Whit. But I think this works because it helps the D'Backs significantly in 3 different ways, who get significant improvements now, cheap marginal improvements for the next 4 years afterwards, and significant salary relief during their window. Meanwhile, the Royals get multiple legitimate high-end prospects, including one in the top 100 that will excite prospect hounds and provide a real kickstart to the rebuilding process.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.