Athletics trade rumors: Royals, Indians interested in Danny Valencia

Cleveland and Kansas City are among the teams interested in Oakland third baseman Danny Valencia, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.

It seems the Athletics will be in a position to move several players on their major league roster before the non-waiver trade deadline, since they entered play Sunday 10 games under five-hundred and 15.5 behind Rangers in the American League West.

Valencia, 31, has had a productive 2016 campaign, batting .333/.381/.552 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs over 54 games. Cafardo notes Valencia has been particularly effective in two-strike situations, batting .316, the best mark in the league. He will not be a free agent until 2018 and is making $3.15 million this season.

With Mike Moustakas, who was batting .240 before tearing his right ACL, out for the season, the Royals have a clear need to add a veteran and productive bat to their infield. Valencia could be an intriguing option for Kansas City, since he played for the Royals in 2014.

Over 36 contests with the Royals, Valencia batted .282.

Cleveland likely views Valencia as an option in the outfield, because he hasn’t had much success defensively at third base, committing 11 errors over 53 games. The Indians haven’t received much offense at third this season, though Jose Ramirez is batting .290 while splitting time between third base and left field.

New York was thought to be interested in Valencia, but that might no longer be the case after the club signed Jose Reyes to a minor league deal when he became a free agent Saturday afternoon.