Kansas City Royals: Wade Davis drawing trade interest
Teams have reportedly checked in on the availability of Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis. If the defending champs sell, will he really be put on the block?
Relief pitchers will be in high demand right up to the August 1 trade deadline, and the reigning World Series champions could hold one of the most coveted pieces. Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis is drawing interest from the Washington Nationals and others, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball.
As Heyman notes, the Royals aren’t committed to selling at this time. They are currently eight games behind in the AL Central and five back in the Wild Card hunt. And if they do decide to make some of their assets available, there is no guarantee Davis will be among them.
Over the last two seasons, Davis developed into one of the preeminent relievers in the game. The right-hander posted a minuscule 0.97 ERA along with a 0.82 WHIP and 4.35 K/BB ratio in 2014-15. He converted 17 of 18 save opportunities last year, officially replacing Greg Holland in the closer’s chair near the end of the season. Davis’ dominance continued into the postseason, where he tossed 10.2 scoreless innings to bring Kansas City a championship. His efforts even netted him a sixth-place finish in the AL Cy Young voting.
Davis has been exemplary thus far in 2016 as well, notching 21 of 23 save chances to the tune of a 1.10 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. His walk rate is up a bit (3.3 BB/9, compared to 2.7 BB/9 a year ago) and his strikeouts are down (8.5 K/9, compared to 10.4 K/9 and 13.6 K/9 the last two years), but that seems somewhat nitpicky in light of his continued reliability. Davis did have a two-week stay on the disabled list at the beginning of the month for a strained right forearm, however. He’s looked fine in four appearances since returning.
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Washington is a frequently mentioned suitor on the relief pitching market, so its interest in Davis is not surprising. Despite boasting the top bullpen ERA (2.85) between both leagues at the moment, the Nats are looking to shore up that part of their roster even more with their eyes on a deep playoff run.
A flurry of reports have surfaced concerning Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman in the past day, with Washington as a potential landing spot. According to ESPN’s Keith Law, the Nationals were dangling pitchers Erick Fedde (#4 prospect in their system per MLB Pipeline) and Koda Glover (#19) plus one more in a potential package for Chapman.
Davis has a very reasonable $10 million team option for next season, meaning he should demand an even greater return in a trade than an impending free agent like Chapman. That could entice the Royals to field offers, but it might also make it less likely that any interested club will actually meet the asking price, especially considering the kind of minor league talent supposedly being bounced around in talks for the Yankees reliever.
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This sounds more like teams seeking high-end relief help doing their due diligence on a player who could conceivably be shopped if his team elects to sell. While the Royals are reportedly mulling that over, it’s hard to see them dealing Davis with another year on his contract unless they are bowled over by an offer.
The rumors should keep flying over the next week, so stay tuned.