The Royals have reportedly spoken to the Reds a couple of commerce involving Kansas Metropolis right-hander Brady Singer and Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India, however that’s simply one among a number of pursuits for Royals normal supervisor J.J. Picollo, it appears. Anne Rogers of MLB.com stories that whereas no offers are essentially shut as of this second, the Royals have additionally spoken to the Phillies about third baseman Alec Bohm and to the Angels about outfielder Taylor Ward. Like India, each Bohm and Ward are right-handed bats with a number of seasons of membership management remaining.
Bohm, 28, was the No. 3 total decide again in 2018 and has settled in as an everyday at third base in Philadelphia over the previous four-plus seasons. He’s coming off an uneven 2024 season by which he was one of many sport’s best hitters in April however adopted it with 5 months of successfully league-average manufacturing. On the entire, he turned in a .280/.332/.448 batting line (115 wRC+). Over the previous three seasons, Bohm has mixed for a .278/.325/.427 slash, demolishing left-handed pitching alongside the best way however producing at a roughly common clip towards fellow righties.
Given his glorious bat-to-ball expertise — 14.2% strikeout charge in 2024; 15.7% courting again to 2022 — Bohm is a wise goal for a Royals membership that locations a heavy emphasis on placing the ball in play. Kansas Metropolis had baseball’s third-lowest strikeout charge in 2024, and since 2021 solely 5 groups have posted a decrease collective strikeout charge than the Royals. Plugging Bohm in as an everyday at third base would offer an offensive improve over slick-fielding Maikel Garcia, who’s arguably higher suited as a utilityman, given his defensive chops.
Talking of glovework, nevertheless, Bohm is one thing of a blended bag on that entrance. The Royals have usually prioritized plus defenders along with their affinity for contact-oriented bats. Bohm has usually graded out as a poor defender on the sizzling nook, however he posted career-best marks in Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Common (4) in 2024. If the Royals imagine these beneficial properties could be sustained, he’d make all of the extra sense as a commerce goal.
Bohm is managed for an additional two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM in his penultimate yr of arbitration eligibility in 2025. It’s a typically affordable charge that shouldn’t be cumbersome, even for a mid-level payroll membership like Kansas Metropolis. Whereas the Royals have in-house choices at third base (Garcia) and at second base (Michael Massey), their curiosity in India and Bohm suggests a need so as to add not less than one bat to that infield combine. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and, after all, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. aren’t going to be displaced, leaving second base or third base because the probably positions to be upgraded.
For the Phillies, buying and selling Bohm wouldn’t be a lot about shedding wage or shifting on from an unproductive participant as it could reimagining an offense that hasn’t gotten them over the hump in current postseason journeys. Bohm has hit nicely with males on base in current seasons (therefore consecutive 97 RBI campaigns) however presents common energy and stark platoon splits. The Phillies, in the meantime, don’t have ample pathways to pursuing upgrades within the lineup. First base (Bryce Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber), catcher (J.T. Realmuto) and proper area (Nick Castellanos) are all manned by costly veterans. Third base (Bohm), second base (Bryson Stott) and the opposite two outfield spots (mixture of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Austin Hays) are the first areas the place president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can look to result in some type of change.
As for Ward, he’s an on-paper commerce candidate for an Angels membership that simply completed lifeless final within the American League West. Nonetheless, proprietor Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian have each expressed a need to place forth a aggressive membership subsequent winter. Ward, coming off a .246/.323/.426 (111 wRC+) exhibiting in 2024 and a .259/.338/.440 line (118 wRC+) since 2021, is seemingly part of that imaginative and prescient. Few outsiders see a path to rivalry for the ’25 Angels, however the crew’s actions so far — buying and selling for Jorge Soler and signing Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman — recommend that they’re extra targeted on including than on subtracting.
As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored final month, there’s a situation the place the Angels transfer Ward and nonetheless make an effort to compete. Ward could possibly be flipped for rotation assist — a possible match with the Royals — or traded for youthful expertise, with the Angels reallocating his would-be wage to different areas of want. Swartz tasks Ward for a $9.2MM wage in 2025, which isn’t unreasonable for a participant of his capability but additionally isn’t a raucous cut price. The Royals may plug Ward into left area, offering a stark improve over MJ Melendez, and pair him with defensive standout Kyle Isbel in middle and rebound hopeful Hunter Renfroe in proper area.
There’s no telling simply but the way it’ll all shake out, however it appears Kansas Metropolis is sort of energetic on the commerce entrance in the meanwhile. Along with the bats they’ve focused, the Royals have obtained curiosity from different golf equipment in every of the aforementioned Garcia, Singer, right-hander Alec Marsh and left-hander Kris Bubic. Picollo and his workers seemingly have loads of potential ideas to discover, with the tip purpose of bolstering a presently top-heavy lineup a reasonably apparent precedence.
