It’s the season that Kansas City Royals fans have been waiting year after year to finally arrive. Even after an early losing streak of 12 consecutive games that seemed to set up the 2012 regular season to look just like every other one of the last decade or more, the Royals are now within seven games of first place in the AL Central and are finding their stride as the summer months approach. That’s good news for a team that will get better with experience.
Buster Olney says the Royals could actually become buyers at the ML trade deadline this year. Instead of selling off veteran parts like Jeff Francoeur and Jon Broxton, the team could actually add a player. Olney says that the Milwaukee Brewers starter Shaun Marcum would make an ideal target.
He writes, “K.C.’s area of need, of course, is in its rotation. If the Brewers become sellers at any point, one player who might fit the Royals perfectly is Shaun Marcum — a veteran starter who could stabilize the K.C. rotation. Marcum is a Missouri native, by the way.”
Marcum won 13 games in each of the last two seasons. This year he is 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 10 starts. In the last four seasons, he’s 38-25 with a 3.54 ERA in seasons with the Blue Jays and Brewers. In short, he’s become a model of consistency in both the AL and NL. It’s the kind of move that would not only stabilize the Royals rotation, but fans would love the addition of Marcum.
Of course, there’s a lot of baseball to be played between now and the trade deadline, but even the mention of the Royals as buyers makes this a positive development. Better days are ahead for KC and they might be here sooner than later.