Royals Blockbuster Trade Idea Brings $7.8 Million 25-HR Slugger To Kansas City

Spring training has arrived, and the Kansas City Royals are still clearly short on offense.

Coming off an 86-win season, the Royals are hoping to establish themselves as real World Series contenders in 2025. But not many contenders have negative value from their corner outfield spots combined, so the Royals have a clear Achilles Heel.

Royals general manager J.J. Picollo has acknowledged that any upgrades at this point are most likely go come via trade. So with that in mind, what reasonably attainable corner outfielders out there might make sense for the Royals?

One target that the Royals have reportedly inquired about in the past is the Los Angeles Angels' Taylor Ward. Coming off a career-high 25 home runs, Ward doesn't fit the Angels' timeline very well, but he'd be a quality addition to a playoff contender's lineup,

In a recent article, SB Nation's Jeremy Greco proposed a hypothetical trade that would bring Ward to Kansas City in exchange for relief pitchers Hunter Harvey and Angel Zerpa and catching prospect Carter Jensen.

"Jensen’s best value might be as a trade chip in a world where Blake Mitchell is still on a path to becoming a future star," Greco wrote.

"Taylor Ward can make the Royals favorites for the division this year and improve their team next year with not much cost in terms of salary. What better use could there be for a trade asset than that?"

Ward, 31, has two years of team control left on his rookie deal, and avoided arbitration on a $7.8 million salary this season. He's got a 110 career OPS+ and averages 2.1 bWAR per 162 games, so he's almost the definition of a reliable big-league starting hitter.

With regards to the return, Jensen is the piece the Royals might one day regret losing, but they're also well-stocked at catcher. Salvador Perez is still around, Freddy Fermin is a very good backup, and another top prospect, Blake Mitchell, comes with a higher pedigree than Jensen.

Ward might be all the Royals need to put them over the top. If a deal like this one is on the table with the Angels, it's hard to see why Kansas City shouldn't take it.

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