With that in mind, the Royals sit a couple weeks from the deadline in a position to make a move for a playoff spot. While they might not ultimately be “buyers” this trade season, they are most definitely in the market. Today, I’m going to look at the starting pitching they could acquire to fortify a rotation that ranks in the bottom half of the league in many categories. Tomorrow, I’ll take a look at position players, mainly outfielders, they can acquire to help round out an offense that hasn’t performed up to the level of expectations.

The Royals have the ammunition to acquire basically any player on the market with a guy like Raul Mondesi. That doesn’t mean they’re going to use him as a trade chip, but the possibility still exists until it doesn’t exist.

Let’s get started. As always, these names are in alphabetical order, so that has nothing to do with my preference of player.

Andrew Cashner – In 2013 and 2014, Cashner looked like a rising star. He had been moved to the rotation by the Padres and was solid in that role. In 50 games (45 starts), he went 15-16 but had a 2.87 ERA in 298.1 innings. He had good stuff, but that didn’t seem to translate to strikeouts. Then last year, the strikeouts arrived, but he was much more hittable and his ERA jumped to 4.34. He’s been even worse this year and has spent time on the disabled list. He’s owed a little more than $3 million the rest of the year and is a free agent following the season. Some teams will find him attractive because he’s cheap and talented, so he’ll fetch something on the market, but he probably won’t be crazy in terms of prospects. This could be a fit if the Royals think they can figure him out quickly.

Jorge De La Rosa – This is an old friend who I never thought would be much of anything in the big leagues, but he’s made a nice career for himself in Colorado. He was actually the player to be named later in the Royals deal for Ramon Ramirez back in 2008 and he’s been there ever since. He still walks too many batters and he doesn’t strike out as many as you’d like, but he’s a solid arm. He had a brutally bad start to the year, but after a short stint in the bullpen, he has a 2.68 ERA in his last six starts over 37 innings. He’s due about $6 million the rest of the year and then is a free agent. I’m thinking he can be had for a prospect in the 11-15 range or so, which the Royals could part with pretty easily.

Matt Garza – Garza was good at one time, but he isn’t any more. The Brewers seemed like they got a pretty good bargain on him when they gave him four years prior to 2014, but he’s really fallen off a cliff. He spent the first part of this season on the disabled list. I really don’t like this option, but he’s out there and the Royals like reclamation projects. He’s owed about $6 million the rest of this year, $12.5 million next year and has an option for 2018 that will likely be for $5 million. If the Royals think they can figure out his issues, that’s a bargain. If not, that’s an albatross. My money is on albatross.

Junior Guerra – This is a pretty good story. He was originally a catcher, but eventually moved to the mound and hung around the minors for a long time. He finally made his debut last year for the White Sox, but was released and then claimed by the Brewers. He’s been fantastic this season, going 6-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 13 starts. He’s averaging more than six innings per start. He’s striking out just under eight per nine innings and walking less than three. He’s limiting hits. Basically, he’s been a revelation. The Brewers have no real reason to trade him because he’s cheap and under control for a long time, but I’d be worried that he’s a flash in the pan. Still, what he’s done would be huge for the Royals in that fifth spot. I can’t imagine he’d be too pricey to acquire, but would still cost more than Garza, in all likelihood.

Jeremy Hellickson – I think Hellickson would be the most Royals and Dayton Moore acquisition you can imagine. When he’s been good, it always seems he’s been good in spite of everything. He’s not quite the extreme fly ball pitcher he’s made out to be, but he’s definitely not a ground ball pitcher. He’s started to strike out more batters and he does have good control, so he’s a guy you can catch lightning in a bottle with. He’s owed a bit more than $3 million and then is a free agent following the season, but I think he’ll be in demand, so he might cost more than he’s worth. Scratch that, he will cost more than he’s worth. I could absolutely see this happening, but I’m not going to love it if and when it does.

Rich Hill – Hill is the best name on the market. He was out of the majors and then made his return last year for the Red Sox. Of course, he turned that into a $6 million deal with the A’s and he’s been great this year for them. He’s missed time with a groin injury and left his start on Sunday after five pitches with a popped blister. He’s not the picture of health, but he’s been excellent and it looks like the changes he’s made have been for real. With pretty much every team needing starting pitching in on Hill, I think the price might be too high and one the Royals can’t match, but they’re watching him and will be in on him. There’s already a report the A’s asked the Red Sox for Anderson Espinoza, a top-20 prospect in the game. They backed off that, but the Royals can’t match that.

Matt Moore – Moore was one of the best young pitchers in baseball when he had to go under the knife for Tommy John. He came back last year and wasn’t what you’d call great. He started this season slow but has a 2.51 ERA and a roughly 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio over his last seven starts where he’s averaged about six and a half innings. There’s certainly risk with Moore, but the upside is undeniable. He’s owed a bit more than $2 million the rest of this year and then has options for $7 million, $9 million and $10 million the next three seasons. He’s not going to come cheap, but he could be a fixture in the rotation for years to come. It might be worth the cost here to help both this team and the next few.

Ivan Nova – Nova isn’t what you’d call good, but he won’t be expensive in either prospects or money. He’s owed around $2 million the rest of this season and has a 5.46 ERA the last three seasons. He doesn’t walk many and he gets a decent amount of strikeouts. Plus, there’s a history with Dave Eiland, so maybe that’s something that he sees in him. I don’t know. Nova is probably throwing a dart at a problem, but he’s out there and could be better than what they’ve had.

Jake Odorizzi – I’ll start by saying I don’t see this happening. Odorizzi has struggled lately but did pitch well on Sunday in getting the win against the Orioles. He’s got good control, gets strikeouts and gives up some home runs, so he’d fit right in with the Royals. He’s also under team control for three more seasons after this one and will head to arbitration for the first time before the 2017 season. He’s going to cost a ton and the production probably doesn’t match up with what his return will be if they trade him. Still, it’s an interesting thought.

Ervin Santana – I love this idea even though Santana is owed $27 million in 2017 and 2018 and about $6.5 million the rest of this season. He’s still a quality pitcher and could fill a hole in the rotation for the next two years to come. He’s owed a little more money than you’d like, and I’m not sure the Twins will see a need to move him if they think they can compete over the next couple seasons. Now, maybe they’d pay down the deal in order to get a better caliber of prospect back, but I think the best bet for the Royals would be to get him at full price without having to pay too much in prospects. With Terry Ryan’s firing, the Twins may be a little more inclined to sell, so that could help here.

Hector Santiago – He doesn’t get deep into games, but the innings he does give are quality. He limits hits well, gets a few strikeouts and walks a few too many. He also gives up more than his share of homers, but he’s a good guy at the back of the rotation. He’s owed a little less than $2.5 million the rest of the year and is arbitration eligible next year before hitting free agency. The Angels system is so weak that Santiago might be a guy the Royals could target with some quantity from the system over high quality. And he’d give them an extra option next year for a relatively inexpensive salary.

Matt Shoemaker – Shoemaker ditched his curve and began using his splitter more and turned into a completely different pitcher. Since May 21, he’s made 11 starts and averaged just under seven innings per outing. He has a 2.36 ERA with 88 strikeouts and nine walks. These are ace numbers. But because his track record isn’t that great, if the Angels are willing to sell on him, they probably aren’t going to get quite as much as someone with those numbers should command. I don’t think they’ll trade him. They shouldn’t, anyway. If so, it might be the same situation as Santiago where the Royals could use quantity to get him. He’s not arbitration eligible until next year and won’t be a free agent until after the 2020 season. If this is for real, he would be a huge get.

Drew Smyly – He hasn’t been good this year by any stretch, but he strikes out a ton of hitters and limits walks pretty well. Of course, he also gives up plenty of hits and plenty of homers. He also doesn’t have the best track record concerning health. I’m not sure the Rays would trade him with his value as low as it currently is, but if they did, he’d be a great buy low candidate. I also think he would cost a lot more than the Royals would be willing to pay.

Dan Straily – Here’s another guy who makes a lot of sense. Straily isn’t going to ever be confused for a top of the rotation arm, but he was solid with Oakland in 2012 and 2013 and after a lost last two years, he’s resurfaced with the Reds where he has a 4.14 ERA as a starter in 100 innings. He’s a back of the rotation guy with not enough strikeouts and a few too many walks, but he’s very difficult to hit, which is his saving grace and helps his WHIP to be a reasonable 1.21 as a starter. He’s already 27, but he has a ton of control left as he’s not even eligible for arbitration. I wonder if he’d be part of a package deal or if the Royals could get him for a bottom half of the top 20 prospects they have. I first mentioned him in early June, and still think he’d be a nice fit.

So there are a bunch of starters who I think could be available and the Royals could keep an eye on. I’m not sure they’ll make any trade, but unless they go way off the grid, these are the likely targets. Tomorrow, I’ll cover the position players they could be after.

I like parts of the A’s offense this season, but they haven’t really clicked yet in the early going of 2016. They’ve got some speed, some pop, some guys who can get on base and a fair amount of versatility on their roster. Prior to the season, they added Yonder Alonso to play first, Jed Lowrie to play second, Khris Davis to man left field and Chris Coghlan to be a jack of all trades for them. All have their strong attributes. Alonso can work a walk. Lowrie can as well and has some pop. Davis can hit the ball a very long way. And Coghlan is just a solid hitter. I’m not really a fan of any of them from a defensive perspective, but how important is defense anyway (says the Royals fan, smirking)?

Behind the plate is Stephen Vogt, who looked like an MVP candidate in the first half of last season before hitting .217/.280/.349 after the All-Star break. Danny Valencia was acquired midseason by the A’s last year and was a revelation in Oakland, hitting .284/.356/.530. He was everything the Royals had hoped he would be for them in 2014, but wasn’t. He’s off to a somewhat slow start this year, but you know what they say. It’s early. “They” is everyone in this case. The two best hitters in the lineup are probably Marcus Semien and Josh Reddick. Reddick is incredibly underrated to me. I think he can really do it all. He’s a good defender, works a walk, has power. He’s actually kind of the perfect player for the Royals. Semien, on the other hand, can hit a little bit, but he’s not exactly a wizard with the glove. He has gotten better, though. The A’s brought in Ron Washington to work with him, and he improved throughout the season last year and has been passable most of the time this year. Of course, I haven’t watched a ton of A’s baseball, so maybe I’ve missed him looking better.

The rest of the A’s are kind of hot and cold. Our old friend, Billy Butler, is pretty much relegated to platoon duty as it looks like he’s getting close to being done in the game. Another former Royal getting playing time is Coco Crisp, who looks pretty decent this year after battling injuries for the last couple. Billy Burns is really fast and plays a solid center field. It remains to be seen if he’ll hit enough, but for now, he’s working out just fine for them. The bench is rounded out by Josh Phegley and Mark Canha. They’re both guys who are good for some occasional power and can get hot and work as starters for a couple weeks at a time here and there. Eventually they’ll get Sam Fuld and Eric Sogard back and have to make some roster choices. I think this A’s offense will be decent this year, but the parts need to work together.

The A’s starting pitching staff has been made over a bit, but the constant is the ace, Sonny Gray. The guy can pitch, and in spite of what they say, he’ll likely be the next player they deal for quite a haul. Behind him in the rotation right now is Chris Bassitt, who has been surprisingly successful in his big league career. I say that because I’m just not a fan of his stuff or command, but he’s made it work so far. Kendall Graveman is an intriguing arm for the A’s, who they acquired as part of the Josh Donaldson deal. He’s going to get every chance to become a mainstay for them. Eric Surkamp has been pressed into action for them with injury issues, so we’ll see how that experiment goes. And the final guy is Rich Hill, who was able to parlay four brilliant starts at the end of 2015 into a $6 million deal for one year with the A’s. He’s been good in his first two starts but has hit four batters, so that’s something to watch out for in this one.

The A’s also remade their bullpen, which they sort of had to. One addition was just a return from injury by their star closer, Sean Doolitte. Reports are that he looks good, but he did blow a save on Tuesday night, so he might still be a work in progress. The A’s also picked up a couple former Royals in Ryan Madson and Liam Hendriks to shore up the setup area. Madson has even picked up a couple saves in the early going. Hendriks has been scored on quite a bit, but he looked really good as a reliever with the Blue Jays last year, so I’d expect he can turn it around. They picked up John Axford to try to revive his career (though they gave him two years, so maybe they think it’s been revived). We’ll see how that goes for them. They also have Ryan Dull and Marc Rzepczynski  along with Fernando Rodriguez to round out the unit. I think it’s better than last year, but it’s definitely not a top tier bullpen.

Friday – Edinson Volquez vs. Rich Hill
To say it’s been quite a journey for Rich Hill would be an understatement. Early in his career, he was a well regarded prospect who the Cubs thought could be one of their next great starters. He had some good seasons even; control was his undoing. After leaving the Cubs, he bounced around the AL East (with stops in Cleveland and LA for good measure) before finally getting a late season opportunity with the Red Sox. Speaking of understatements, he made the most of it. In four starts, he went 29 innings, gave up 14 hits, struck out 36 and walked just 5. That earned him a deal with the A’s, and he’s had a decent showing in his first two starts, but with a crazy good strikeout rate and a good walk rate. Hill has faced the Royals 11 times in his career. He made two starts against them in 2009 and nine relief appearances against them in 2013. He’s gone 10.2 innings, given up 15 hits and struck out 10 while walking 8 in those appearances, which resulted in a 5.91 ERA for him.

Three things to watch for against Hill:

1. Hill is a fastball-curve guy, and that has been a good combination for him since he resurfaced. The fastball isn’t special with regard to velocity, but it does have a lot of movement, which is part of why he has struggled with control at times. The curve is the strikeout pitch for Hill, but it can hang, so it’s not one to just let go by every single time. He also does mix in a slider from time to time to keep hitters honest. He has a change, but he rarely uses it.
2. There’s just not much data on the new Rich Hill to determine what works and what doesn’t against him. And, quite frankly, not much has worked against him. A couple things to note, though, are that he will start an at bat with that curve ball, but that’s when it seems to hang a little from what I’ve seen, so Royals hitters should beware of that. He also has gone to his slider mostly when he’s behind in the count to right-handed batters.
3. Last year, he was murder on lefties and righties alike. This year, he’s actually gotten hit really hard by some lefties, but the sample is so small that it’s hard to tell what’s just noise and what’s worth believing. Royals hitters have 16 total plate appearances against Hill, with the only hits coming from Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar.

Volquez has started off his 2016 in style with a lot of strikeouts and a couple really solid pitching performances. He’ll get the chance to pitch in a place that seems like it should be good for him, especially at night against a not great offense. I think this could be the start that we see Volquez give the Royals seven innings to help keep the bullpen a little better rested. He’s 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA in four career starts against the A’s. Coghlan has worked three walks against him and Davis has two doubles against him, but there’s not much data around the A’s matchups with Volquez as he just hasn’t faced them much.

Saturday – Chris Young vs. Sonny Gray
For a guy who has finished in the top three of a Cy Young vote, thrown 200+ innings each of the last two seasons and owns a career ERA under 3, I’d say that Gray is underrated. He’s hard to hit, gets swings and misses, limits walks pretty well and will give you innings. I think some question his durability due to his 5’10” frame, but until proven otherwise, I’m sold that he’s a horse at the top of a rotation. He may not be a Chris Sale-type ace with the overpowering stuff, but he’s definitely an ace. In three career starts against the Royals, he’s pitched well, but is 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA. The Royals did hit him in a start last year, but that’s the one where he got a no-decision. Baseball can be funny.

Three things to watch for against Gray:

1. Gray sits at around 94 MPH with his sinker, just like Bassitt does, but the pitches are just better for Gray. They’re crisper and have a little more movement on them. Also like Bassitt, he throws a slider and a curve, but the slider can be devastating when it’s on. It gets a ton of swings and misses. The curve is very good too, but it’s not on the level of his slider. That is definitely an underrated pitch among hurlers in the big leagues.
2. Here’s an idea of how good Sonny Gray is. Most pitchers are pretty good when they’re ahead in the count and can be hurt when they’re behind in the count. Obviously Gray could get hurt behind in the count, but he’s one of the best in baseball at still getting outs even in those situations. Last year, he allowed just a .731 OPS with just 11 extra base hits when he was behind in the count. The guy can pitch.
3. Last year, he was slightly better against lefties, but in his career, he’s just tough on batters from both sides of the plate, which is to be expected from someone of his caliber. Nobody in the Royals lineup has faced Gray a ton, but Eric Hosmer is 3 for 3 against him, which is notable in a way. Lorenzo Cain also has two hits against him and two walks, so maybe he sees the ball well against him, too.

So far this season, Young has had one solid start and one rough go of it. I think a lot of the last start is that he just isn’t a good fit for that park or against that offense in Houston. It happens. He gets the chance to move to a park that definitely fits his style much better against an offense that isn’t quite as good at mashing mistakes. Young has faced the A’s 11 times in his career with 10 of those starts. He has a career 4-4 record with a 3.48 ERA in those 11 games. Over the last two seasons, he’s faced the A’s seven times with six being starts. He’s 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 32.2 innings in those games. Among A’s hitters who have seen Young, Lowrie is really the only one who has done any real damage against him, and that’s in just 11 plate appearances.

Sunday – Kris Medlen vs. Chris Bassitt
For a guy who has finished in the top three of a Cy Young vote, thrown 200+ innings each of the last two seasons and owns a career ERA under 3, I’d say that Gray is underrated. He’s hard to hit, gets swings and misses, limits walks pretty well and will give you innings. I think some question his durability due to his 5’10” frame, but until proven otherwise, I’m sold that he’s a horse at the top of a rotation. He may not be a Chris Sale-type ace with the overpowering stuff, but he’s definitely an ace. In three career starts against the Royals, he’s pitched well, but is 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA. The Royals did hit him in a start last year, but that’s the one where he got a no-decision. Baseball can be funny.

Three things to watch for against Bassitt:

1. Bassitt throws a fastball/sinker combo with decent velocity. Both come in around 94 MPH. The sinker doesn’t move as much as you would like, which is why his career ground ball rate is at around 44 percent. He also throws a slider and a curve. Both are good pitches, but aren’t the swing and miss pitches you’d like to see. I guess that’s what makes him a back of the rotation guy rather than a front of the rotation guy.
2. One reason I just don’t see it as an every fifth day type starter for Bassitt is that he gets smoked when a lineup sees him a third time. The first two times through, he’s actually quite good. I think a lot of that is because his breaking pitches are quality enough, but not so great that repetition doesn’t help against them. The first two times through the order, Bassitt allows a sub-.700 OPS. The third time through, though, that number jumps to .872 in his career.
3. He actually has a reverse platoon split in his career, holding lefties to a .658 OPS compared to .733 against right-handed batters. Escobar, Moustakas and Alex Gordon all have multiple hits against Bassitt, but I have a hunch this is a good matchup for Morales.

Medlen had what I’d call a solid first start against Houston on Tuesday night. He seemed to fight some command issues throughout the game, but he also hadn’t pitched in about two weeks prior. I’ve been excited for Medlen all spring, and now that the season is here and he’s already shown what kind of makeup he has on the mound this season, I’m even more excited. I think he should do a decent job of navigating through this A’s offense in this park, though the ball does jump a little more during the day. Medlen has never faced the A’s in his career. He has faced Coghlan 16 times, though, and has allowed a .545/.688/.545 line to him, so watch out there.

Coming off a tough series against the Astros, I could see a bit of a letdown for the Royals as they head to Oakland, but I trust in this team to not falter. They’re better than the A’s, but I have to say the matchup against Hill and his curve is a little concerning. And Gray is really good too. So while I don’t think the A’s are especially great, I do think the Royals have their work cut out for them. I’ll predict a series win for the Royals here, but it won’t be easy.