A few months ago and this question was a no-brainer. Of course David DeJesus would be back with the Kansas City Royals in 2011.
Then there were some trade rumors. DeJesus was in the midst of perhaps his best year as a professional which means there were other teams interested. The weeks leading up to the MLB trade deadline were filled with all sorts of rumors, reports and suggestions that DeJesus could be going here or there.
And then he got hurt, ending his season.
That was devastating enough but it also brought up the question of whether he would return to the Royals.
It seems incredibly unlikely that the Royals would just part ways with him, especially as GM Dayton Moore sings his praises to the Kansas City Star.
"David has been a very productive player for us," Moore said. "He’s been one of our most consistent players, offensively and defensively. He’s a big part of our team."
So the Royals want him back.
That means they'll need to pick up his $6 million option -- decision on that will come by Oct. 15. At that point, they'll have him under contract.
This winter the talk of trades and other roster moves will undoubtedly creep back up.
But if the Royals don't plan to extend DeJesus -- there's no indication either way on that -- then you can probably bet he'll be moved before the 2011 trade deadline. Keeping him for a few months when he's set to be a free agent is pointless and expensive. This is all assuming the Royals are not contenders at that point.
It looks like the next move for the Royals will be to pick up his option on Oct. 15 and then we'll move from there.
