Kansas City Royals Checked In On Luis Arraez Before Trade

The Kansas City Royals have gotten off to a pretty strong start in the 2024 season. They are right in the mix for the AL Central lead with a 20-15 record, tied with the Minnesota Twins and only 2.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians.

Kansas City has found success on the back of a strong pitching staff. They have surrendered only 117 runs this season, which is the second least behind only the Seattle Mariners. That has more than made up for an offense that has been only slightly above average thus far this season.

There is still plenty of time ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, but the Kansas City Royals have the look of a team that could be a buyer. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they were already kicking the tires on making a move to upgrade their lineup.

Last week, the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins completed a rare May trade that garnered some headlines. All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez was traded to San Diego in exchange for four players.

It was a deal that made sense as the Marlins are one of the worst teams in baseball thus far this season. The Padres, led by A.J. Preller in their front office, have always been aggressive when seeking out upgrades to their roster. It turns out that they weren’t the only team looking into Arraez, as the Kansas City Royals were as well.

“Rosenthal emphasizes that talks with the Kansas City were preliminary and did not advance far. Still, the mere interest from Kansas City is telling. The Royals had an aggressive winter that saw them spend $109MM across several free agent signings, and now that they’re out to a 20-15 start to the season, it seems they’re interested in further bolstering the club,” as written by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors.

It is easy to see how Arraez would have fit into the Royals’ lineup. While not a strong defender at second base, he is serviceable at first base. Kansas City has Vinny Pasquantino locked in there, which means Arraez would have likely received a bulk of his at-bats as a designated hitter.

While nothing was imminent with the Marlins for Arraez, just being linked by Rosenthal to him was telling for the Kansas City Royals. They want to capitalize on their hot start and stop their playoff drought. The team has missed the postseason eight straight years, last making it when they won the World Series in 2015 over the New York Mets.