The Royals have reportedly spoken to the Reds a couple of commerce involving Kansas Metropolis right-hander Brady Singer and Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India, however that’s simply one in every of a number of pursuits for Royals normal supervisor J.J. Picollo, it appears. Anne Rogers of MLB.com experiences that whereas no offers are essentially shut as of this second, the Royals have additionally spoken to the Phillies about third baseman Alec Bohm and to the Angels about outfielder Taylor Ward. Like India, each Bohm and Ward are right-handed bats with a number of seasons of membership management remaining.
Bohm, 28, was the No. 3 general decide again in 2018 and has settled in as an everyday at third base in Philadelphia over the previous four-plus seasons. He’s coming off an uneven 2024 season through which he was one of many sport’s most efficient hitters in April however adopted it with 5 months of successfully league-average manufacturing. On the entire, he turned in a .280/.332/.448 batting line (115 wRC+). Over the previous three seasons, Bohm has mixed for a .278/.325/.427 slash, demolishing left-handed pitching alongside the way in which however producing at a roughly common clip towards fellow righties.
Given his wonderful bat-to-ball expertise — 14.2% strikeout price in 2024; 15.7% courting again to 2022 — Bohm is a smart goal for a Royals membership that locations a heavy emphasis on placing the ball in play. Kansas Metropolis had baseball’s third-lowest strikeout price in 2024, and since 2021 solely 5 groups have posted a decrease collective strikeout price than the Royals. Plugging Bohm in as an everyday at third base would offer an offensive improve over slick-fielding Maikel Garcia, who’s arguably higher suited as a utilityman, given his defensive chops.
Talking of glovework, nevertheless, Bohm is one thing of a combined bag on that entrance. The Royals have sometimes prioritized plus defenders along with their affinity for contact-oriented bats. Bohm has sometimes graded out as a poor defender on the sizzling nook, however he posted career-best marks in Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Common (4) in 2024. If the Royals imagine these positive aspects could be sustained, he’d make all of the extra sense as a commerce goal.
Bohm is managed for one more two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM in his penultimate 12 months of arbitration eligibility in 2025. It’s a usually cheap price that shouldn’t be cumbersome, even for a mid-level payroll membership like Kansas Metropolis. Whereas the Royals have in-house choices at third base (Garcia) and at second base (Michael Massey), their curiosity in India and Bohm suggests a want so as to add not less than one bat to that infield combine. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and, in fact, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. aren’t going to be displaced, leaving second base or third base because the seemingly positions to be upgraded.
For the Phillies, buying and selling Bohm wouldn’t be a lot about shedding wage or transferring on from an unproductive participant as it might reimagining an offense that hasn’t gotten them over the hump in current postseason journeys. Bohm has hit effectively with males on base in current seasons (therefore consecutive 97 RBI campaigns) however presents common energy and stark platoon splits. The Phillies, in the meantime, don’t have ample pathways to pursuing upgrades within the lineup. First base (Bryce Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber), catcher (J.T. Realmuto) and proper discipline (Nick Castellanos) are all manned by costly veterans. Third base (Bohm), second base (Bryson Stott) and the opposite two outfield spots (mixture of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Austin Hays) are the first areas the place president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can look to result in some type of change.
As for Ward, he’s an on-paper commerce candidate for an Angels membership that simply completed lifeless final within the American League West. Nevertheless, proprietor Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian have each expressed a want to place forth a aggressive membership subsequent winter. Ward, coming off a .246/.323/.426 (111 wRC+) exhibiting in 2024 and a .259/.338/.440 line (118 wRC+) since 2021, is seemingly part of that imaginative and prescient. Few outsiders see a path to competition for the ’25 Angels, however the crew’s actions up to now — buying and selling for Jorge Soler and signing Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman — recommend that they’re extra centered on including than on subtracting.
As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored final month, there’s a state of affairs the place the Angels transfer Ward and nonetheless make an effort to compete. Ward may very well be flipped for rotation assist — a possible match with the Royals — or traded for youthful expertise, with the Angels reallocating his would-be wage to different areas of want. Swartz initiatives Ward for a $9.2MM wage in 2025, which isn’t unreasonable for a participant of his capability but additionally isn’t a raucous discount. The Royals may plug Ward into left discipline, offering a stark improve over MJ Melendez, and pair him with defensive standout Kyle Isbel in heart and rebound hopeful Hunter Renfroe in proper discipline.
There’s no telling simply but the way it’ll all shake out, however it appears Kansas Metropolis is sort of energetic on the commerce entrance for the time being. Along with the bats they’ve focused, the Royals have acquired curiosity from different golf equipment in every of the aforementioned Garcia, Singer, right-hander Alec Marsh and left-hander Kris Bubic. Picollo and his employees seemingly have loads of potential ideas to discover, with the tip aim of bolstering a at the moment top-heavy lineup a reasonably apparent precedence.
