Royals Rumors: Kansas City Not Guaranteed to Sell

It is not a given that the Kansas City Royals will be sellers this trade deadline, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Morosi notes that the Royals entered the day 4 ½ games behind the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians. This is the case despite the Royals overall record of 31-36.

The general weakness of the AL Central could keep the Royals from selling off veteran pieces this summer. A recent hot stretch in which KC has won three of their last four and seven of their last 10 games has the Royals technically within striking distance with the All-Star break approaching.

While this could be a reason for the Royals unwillingness to sell this summer, Kansas City also doesn’t have many veteran pieces to be had on their current roster. The Royals are tied with the Houston Astros as having the youngest combined age of players on their roster, 27.4 years.

It has been reported that outfielder Jeff Francoeur could be available this summer, but that could have more to do with the presence of top prospect Wil Myers than the Royals being sellers. Beyond Francoeur, the Royals don’t have much to offer rival teams in way of veterans outside of Bruce Chen and Jonathan Broxton. Ken Rosenthal reported earlier today that first baseman Billy Butler is considered relatively untouchable.