At this point, the Kansas City-St. Louis trade fit is arguably the most talked about offseason storyline among the Royals faithful.
The Cardinals entered the offseason with a need for starting pitching, which the Royals happen to have an abundance of currently. Then, the Royals entered the winter months with a need to upgrade at second base and in the corner outfield, and St. Louis happens to have the ultimate trade piece in utility man Brendan Donovan who’s potentially available.
It seemed to be a match made in heaven.
However, the offseason moves fast and the Cardinals GM Chaim Bloom has wasted no time getting their rebuild started in his first winter in charge after trading veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
On the surface, moving a major league starting pitcher like Gray would traditionally seem to only strengthen the Cardinals’ need for major league rotation additions, if that’s truly what they’re after. However, moving a pitcher of that quality with the large salary that he possessed could actually work against the Royals and their chances of pulling off a significant deal with St. Louis for multiple reasons.
Sonny Gray trade only complicates the Royals’ trade fit with the Cardinals
A post trade report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi on Wednesday really put the Cardinals’ situation in perspective , as he said St. Louis’ focus is on the future.
Morosi said that Bloom has indicated the mindset of the team is on the long-term rather than short-term. Morosi also reported that this could very well not be the last move the Cards make before the offseason is up.
If that’s the case and a rebuild is afoot, then it seems a lot more difficult to imagine the Cardinals trading for a name like Kris Bubic now, considering he only has one year of team control remaining meaning he isn’t a guarantee to be back come 2027. He also happens to be coming off a rotator cuff injury that cut his season short and held him out a majority of the second half that could make him seem like more of a risk.
Then, there’s the fact that, while he might not be at the level of a Bubic, St. Louis did acquire a major league capable starter in Richard Fitts from the Red Sox in return for Gray.
Again, he’s not coming off an All-Star season like Bubic. However, if the Cardinals are entering a rebuild or at least a period of being more future-focused, they may be more inclined to give a guy like the soon-to-be 26-year old Fitts – who has three more years of pre-arbitration left on top of his arb years – a shot in the rotation before acquiring a higher caliber “win-now” arm like Bubic.
This certainly doesn’t mean this trade fit is dead in the water for the Royals, but it seems the assets required to bring in a desirable name like Donovan just got a lot higher for J.J. Picollo and Co.
Does that mean they’ll have to part ways with Noah Cameron? Maybe Ryan Bergert? Or maybe a rising prospect like David Shields or Kendry Chourio? Only time will tell, but there’s no denying the Sonny Gray blockbuster did more harm to this trade fit than it did good for it.