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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe believes Kansas City Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur is an interesting player on the trade market that would fit into a lot of teams’ plans this summer.
Francoeur is an excellent defender with a strong arm and a righthanded hitter who would fit into a lot of teams’ plan. Wil Myers is on the way in Kansas City, making Francoeur expendable. The Royals, who believe they are in position to go for it, need pitching.
Cafardo notes the Royals feel they are "in position to go for it," but even so the club is expected to make Francoeur available. Kansas City believes they can replace Francoeur with top prospect Wil Myers without facing much, if any, of a drop-off in production.
Though they’ve lost three games in a row, Kansas City is still only six games behind the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox. The Royals are also 6 ½ games out of the final wild-card spot in the AL.
Francoeur, 28, has hit at a clip of .256/.293/.387 this season with seven home runs, 14 doubles and 24 RBIs. He owns a career OPS of .741 and hit .285/.329/.476 last year for the Royals.
Myers, 21, has posted a line of .329/.408/.688 with 50 extra-base hits and 71 RBIs over his 301 at-bats with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate. Over his four seasons in the minors, he’s maintained a career OPS of .931.
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What's a fair package for Francoeur?
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