The royals travel to Toronto tomorrow to start a series against the Blue Jays, but they will be without much of their regular roster. The team announced to reporters among them Alec Lewis from The AthleticTen players will be placed on the restricted list. Since unprotected travelers are not allowed to cross the Canada-US border, it has become common for teams to put a handful of players on the banned list before playing in Toronto. However, the quantity and quality of the Royals players included is noteworthy. Full list of names: Andrew BenintendeAnd the Wait MerryfieldAnd the Hunter DozerAnd the Cam GallagherAnd the MG MelendezAnd the Brady SingerAnd the Brad KeelerAnd the Kyle IsbleAnd the Michael A. Taylor And the Dylan Coleman.
Benintendi is one of the best trading chips of the year, as it’s a free agent that’s imminent having a good season for a non-competitive team. He landed in slot #2 MLBTR Recent List Top Trade Candidates, Advanced Only Wilson Contreras. Benintende runs 10.2% of his board appearances while only making 14% of the time and making .317/.386/.401 in the year. That amounts to a level of 127 world points, or 27% above the league average. With the Royals currently at 35-53, a record worst of all MLS teams except for the A-teams, they stand out as clear sellers on deadlines.
Two weeks ago, it was mentioned That the Blue Jays were among the teams interested in acquiring the Benintende, which was a fairly logical match. Benintendi bats from the left hand side, while Blue Jays have a heavy lineup in the right hand. They got a defensive player Rimmel Tapia of the Rockies in an informal trade as a way of trying to balance things out. Unfortunately, it only hit .263/.289/.375 versus .84 wRC+ this year. Benintendi switched to the role of Tapia as part of the outfield/DH mix with George SpringerAnd the Tuscar Hernandez And the Lourdes Gurriel Jr. It will be a direct upgrade. However, this news appears to somewhat eliminate the chances of such a deal together as Benintendi will only be available to Blue Jays road games.
In the short term, the Royal Family will have to find replacements for these players in order to pass the next four game series against the Blue Jays, which starts tomorrow. Corresponding movements are unknown at this time.