Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports notes that the rumors are circulating that the Kansas City Royals might be trying to trade Billy Butler in their quest for starting pitching. However, Rosenthal says that's not true and adds that the move doesn't even make any sense.
↵He writes, "Butler has yet to hit more than 21 home runs in a season, and had the same OPS-plus as Howie Kendrick last season. Still, scouts in the Arizona Fall League continue to report that right-handed power hitters are in short supply. The minute the Royals traded Butler, they would be looking to replace him. It doesn’t make sense, not when he is signed to a club-friendly contract and still in his pre-prime."
↵Butler is a mixed bag for a lot of Royals fans -- a guy who makes good contact and can hit, yet doesn't deliver the middle of the order wallop that most DH/1B types can bring. Yet he's only 25 and has been nothing but an excellent hitter on a poor Royals team year after year. Rosenthal is absolutely right that no trade involving Butler should happen.