Royals prospect Wil Myers' ascension as a super prospect has put veteran right fielder Jeff Francoeur on the trading block.
Many teams are holding off on making players available until July, which is typical. But Myers' enormous performance in the minors -- he has 22 home runs and 58 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A -- means Francoeur can be traded without any claim or thought the Royals have thrown in the towel. Favorable publicity surely would accompany a Myers promotion. The Royals may have the best collection of young power prospects in the game, including fiirst baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas.
Royals people have said they will be patient with Myers, so there's no rush to trade Francoeur, who's hitting .268 with five homers and 16 RBI. One potential issue/impediment to a trade is Francoeur's limited value. He was a midseason pickup of the Rangers two years ago but was making very little money at the time. Now he's in the first year of a two-year $13.5 million deal.
The Royals like Francoeur very much, especially for his defense and clubhouse presence, so the trick will be to find someone who likes him almost as much. Royals GM Dayton Moore originally had Francoeur when he was with the Braves.
Many teams are holding off on making players available until July, which is typical. But Myers' enormous performance in the minors -- he has 22 home runs and 58 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A -- means Francoeur can be traded without any claim or thought the Royals have thrown in the towel. Favorable publicity surely would accompany a Myers promotion. The Royals may have the best collection of young power prospects in the game, including fiirst baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas.
Royals people have said they will be patient with Myers, so there's no rush to trade Francoeur, who's hitting .268 with five homers and 16 RBI. One potential issue/impediment to a trade is Francoeur's limited value. He was a midseason pickup of the Rangers two years ago but was making very little money at the time. Now he's in the first year of a two-year $13.5 million deal.
The Royals like Francoeur very much, especially for his defense and clubhouse presence, so the trick will be to find someone who likes him almost as much. Royals GM Dayton Moore originally had Francoeur when he was with the Braves.
