Royals rumors: High asking price for Luke Hochevar

Luke Hochevar has struggled mightily at the big-league level. The former No. 1 pick has been a regular fixture in the Royals' rotation since 2008, but has a pretty terrible 5.45 ERA over 127 starts in that span.

Despite his struggles, and though the Royals no longer have a place for him in the rotation, the club is still asking for "quite a bit" from those interested in acquiring him, reports Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.

It is somewhat surprising that teams are calling the Royals about Hochevar at all, but even more so that Kansas City is playing hard to get with the 29-year-old. Manager Ned Yost announced on Wednesday that Hochevar is moving to the bullpen full-time and will not be in the running for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, so it is unclear why the team seems unwilling to part with the right-hander.

The Royals will give Hochevar $4.56 million in 2013, a rather steep price to pay for a pitcher who has never been better than replacement level and has been relegated to fighting for a job in an already stacked bullpen. A Super-Two player, Hochevar has one more year of arbitration before he hits free agency.