Despite the recent upward swing in the AL Central standings for the Kansas City Royals, it's been a common belief that the team would likely sell at the deadline given the ongoing youth movement and look to the future by Dayton Moore in the general manager's office. Such a young team is not expected to give up its future for the sake of any "win now" mentality. However, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports paints a different picture.
Not a given that #Royals will sell at deadline, scouts say. They are only 4.5 games out in winnable division.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 21, 2012
Jeff Francoeur is the first name typically brought up for trade, since they have an automatic replacement in Wil Myers at AAA Omaha. However the team loves his leadership and character and he's a nice bat in the order himself. He loves playing for KC by all accounts and he might be more important to the team culture than fans realize.
Jon Broxton is another common name brought up. A number of teams could use a closer and relief help in general and the Royals could also stand to lose a reliever since they have some organizational depth and a player like Greg Holland who could step in.
It's possible that both players could be shipped out for future assets, among others, and the Royals could still compete. But Moore could decide that a poor 2012 campaign by preseason division favorites like the Detroit Tigers opens the window sooner than expected.