Angels $9 Million Star Floated As Royals Trade Target At Position Of Need
The Kansas City Royals need to get more production from their outfield in 2025. That's not even up for debate.
In particular, the two outfield corners must improve, as regular starters MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe combined for -0.9 WAR a season ago. At those traditionally offense-first positions, the Royals got almost no offensive contributions.
Could Kansas City make one more blockbuster trade this winter to address that deficiency? One Major League Baseball analyst believes so.
Eno Sarris of The Athletic recently analyzed the biggest "roster holes" among prospective contenders and found that the Royals' corner outfield had the second-fewest projected WAR of any returning playoff team, ahead of only the Philadelphia Phillies.
To address that very roster hole, Sarris also floated current Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, who hit 25 home runs this past season, as a potential trade candidate for Kansas City.
"If the solution needs to be (cheap), Taylor Ward in Anaheim (would) be interesting, depending on the prospect cost," Sarris wrote. "There has to be a way for Kansas City to improve that outfield further."
Ward, 31, has a 110 career OPS+ in seven seasons, and just played in 156 games for Los Angeles, the highest total of his career. He's got two years of arbitration remaining and is projected for a $9 million 2025 salary (via Spotrac).
The Royals would have to check on the asking price to make sure it's not egregious, but Ward could be the perfect reliable bat to plug into the fifth or sixth slot of the Kansas City lineup and hold down left field. It's up to J.J. Picollo and the front office to navigate the terms of such a deal.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org