Ahh, twitter. The new rumor mill of baseball.
According to a tweet from Joel Sherman, a baseball writer for the New York Post, the Royals have shown interest in trading for Tampa Bay Rays outfielder B.J. Upton.
On the surface it's hard not to be excited about potentially obtaining a gold-glove caliber center fielder who averages 17 home runs and 72 RBI a year. However in doing so, Dayton Moore would have to back up the prospects truck in Tampa and unload quite the haul to obtain the 26-year old.
Upton is a solid player, but he just doesn't come off to me as a great player. His .256/.341/.411 career line doesn't thrill me, and in the current season is batting just .229. For his career, he also has over twice as many strikeouts as he does walks. Again, it doesn't thrill me in comparison to what the Royals would have to give up in terms of prospects.
Also, if the Royals were to acquire Upton, what place would it leave Lorenzo Cain? Cain is playing well enough in Omaha to deserve a chance with Kansas City, however he is blocked currently by Melky Cabrera. If the Royals trade Cabrera, yet obtain Upton, it leaves Cain once again in the dark.
One person in the business I certainly trust when talking about minor league prospects is Ben Badler of Baseball America. There might not be a better opinion out there when talking baseball prospects, so I often trust whatever he has to say. He also chimed in on twitter with his thoughts, saying it "Would be a disaster for KC". If Ben Badler doesn't think it is a wise move, I don't either.