Aubrey Huff and a Parade
Another week’s passed, and the Royals’ search for an impact bat for the outfield still hasn’t reached its conclusion. Jeromy Burnitz is the only viable free agent option left, but they apparently don’t have any interest there. That means they’re down to making a trade or opening up Spring Training with Abraham Nunez and Terrence Long flanking David DeJesus in the outfield. Knowing that one of the two-headed Nunez/Long monster will have a starting job is bad enough; knowing that there’s a real possibility that both of them will open the season as regulars is downright scary.
Because of that, the Royals need to hit the accelerator on trade talks for Austin Kearns of the Reds (who’re reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt), Jason Michaels of the Phillies, or – here’s a new one – Aubrey Huff of the Devil Rays. He isn’t technically an outfielder, since only 111 of his 454 career games have been played out of the infield or the DH spot. However, the Royals can’t afford to be picky with where they are right now, and Huff’s bat is far too good to pass up. The Rays are discussing trading him to Baltimore for a young pitcher and a young infielder, so I don’t see any reason why the Royals shouldn’t jump into the fray and see if Tampa GM Chuck LaMar would go for a package of Affeldt and Andres Blanco, Ruben Gotay, or Donnie Murphy.
On a side note, I had the opportunity yesterday to talk to Parade Magazine contributing columnist Robert Moritz about this blog, why I started it, and why I enjoy writing it. Moritz – who seems like one heck of a nice guy – is writing a story about blogging for the magazine, and it’s likely that yours truly will have some quotes in the article. I guess it’s a little bit nerdy that I’m really excited about seeing my name in print, but I’m all for anything that’ll help this page reach even more people and hopefully continue to grow in popularity.
Because of that, the Royals need to hit the accelerator on trade talks for Austin Kearns of the Reds (who’re reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt), Jason Michaels of the Phillies, or – here’s a new one – Aubrey Huff of the Devil Rays. He isn’t technically an outfielder, since only 111 of his 454 career games have been played out of the infield or the DH spot. However, the Royals can’t afford to be picky with where they are right now, and Huff’s bat is far too good to pass up. The Rays are discussing trading him to Baltimore for a young pitcher and a young infielder, so I don’t see any reason why the Royals shouldn’t jump into the fray and see if Tampa GM Chuck LaMar would go for a package of Affeldt and Andres Blanco, Ruben Gotay, or Donnie Murphy.
On a side note, I had the opportunity yesterday to talk to Parade Magazine contributing columnist Robert Moritz about this blog, why I started it, and why I enjoy writing it. Moritz – who seems like one heck of a nice guy – is writing a story about blogging for the magazine, and it’s likely that yours truly will have some quotes in the article. I guess it’s a little bit nerdy that I’m really excited about seeing my name in print, but I’m all for anything that’ll help this page reach even more people and hopefully continue to grow in popularity.