Report: Royals targeting help at corners; eyeing Alex Rios, others
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If the Kansas City Royals are successful in their trade deadline shopping, Alex Rios could find himself back in the AL Central.
The Royals are looking for offensive help at the corners as they try to make up seven games in the division and three-and-a-half games in the wild card race, and Rios fits the bill as a versatile right-handed bat.
Kansas City and "GMDM" are casting a wide net, however, and so if they can't land Rios, there are ample other targets. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports:
Beyond Rios, other corner outfield bats that are available include Marlon Byrd, Domonic Brown, Josh Willingham, Carlos Quentin, Nate Schierholtz (though Cubs teammates Chris Coghlan and Justin Ruggiano are hitting better lately) and perhaps Martin Prado.
Rios should be available as the Rangers look to acquire assets for a brighter 2015, and because Texas has little reason to may the prorated portion of his $12 million salary the rest of the way.
In Rios, the Royals would be getting a .302/.330/.435 hitter who, while inconsistent early in his career, has settled in as a slightly above-average bat the past three seasons. While he has just four home runs on the year, his isolated slugging remains elite against lefties at .277, an area the Royals rank 28th in as a team.
There could be competition for the other names on Heymans' list, as the Seattle Mariners, among others, are said to be interested in a few of them.