The Royals Demands for David DeJesus Are Just Fine

Jeff Passan reports that the demands are silly. One quick look from my eye and I don't see how the Royals would play it any differently.

If there's much buzz around Kansas City about the upcoming MLB trade deadline (July 25th), it's centered around David DeJesus. The talented outfielder is still under contract through the end of 2011 (club option for $6 million). At age 30, he's having his best year ever, hitting .320 and an OPS of .836 currently -- both career highs. In other words, he's a relatively cheap, productive hitter in his prime under control for another year and a half.

Simply put, that's not the kind of guy you trade. It's not as if the Royals have the Phillies scenario playing itself out. In Philadelphia, you have super-prospect Domonic Brown tearing up AAA as if it is little league with an aging Raul Ibanez in their current OF alongside sure-to-walk free agent Jayson Werth. If the Phils don't move one of those guys, they're plain stupid. But the Royals don't have that problem. DeJesus is arguably the best bat in the lineup and is not easily replaced. Heck, he's not replaced at all if he leaves.

So the Royals say they need an ML ready prospect and another solid prospect in the mid-minors. Why not? That seems very reasonable to me. They'd also accept two lower minor leaguers instead of the one middle ground, presumably because the risk with those young guys is quite higher. Again, that's entirely understandable. The team receiving DeJesus can know they don't have to worry about their LF spot until 2012. That's likely to cost you something.

It's my feeling that the general manager telling these things to Passan is actually using him in hopes of driving down the price a bit on the part of the Royals. Convince someone they're unreasonable and they either clam up or lower their demands. In this instance, the Royals would be wise to stick to their guns and know they have a good thing in-house. There's no reason to trade DeJesus for anything less than exactly what they want -- if they need to trade him at all.