MLB Rumors: Kansas City Royals getting interest in closer Wade Davis
The Kansas City Royals have built a strong bullpen but as they look to rebound from a non-playoff season, calls are coming on Wade Davis.
The Kansas City Royals reached back-to-back World Series, winning one in 2015, partially on the strength of a great bullpen. But a 81-81 campaign in 2016 has led general manager Dayton Moore to suggest a payroll regression for 2017, and a notable bullpen arm may already be on the trade block.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, the Royals are getting a lot of early trade calls regarding closer Wade Davis. Davis was a possible trade candidate prior to July’s deadline, but a forearm issue around that time put that to rest and he finished with 27 saves and a 1.87 ERA over 45 appearances this season.
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The Royals haven’t picked up Davis’ $10 million option yet, but that should be a formality once the World Series is over. With a free agent closer market that will include Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, Davis stands out as a bargain by comparison.
Of course there is the small matter of Davis’ arm issue, and the peripheral declines he had this year. His K/9 rate (9.8) was still very good, but it was a drop-off from 2014 (13.6) and 2015 (10.4) and his walk rate (3.3 BB/9) also spiked. As could be expected, Davis’s fastball velocity dropped nearly a full MPH in 2016, to 95.0 from a peak of 95.8 in 2015.
Davis’ sterling three-year track record, with a 1.18 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and ground ball rate over 44 percent going back to Opening Day 2014, should not offset what could be a blip driven by an arm injury. But any arm problem for a pitcher should not be disregarded either, if only as a possible precursor for future issues.
Based on their notable failure to close out the Chicago Cubs in their National League Division Series, the San Francisco Giants could be the top team looking to add Davis to the back end of their bullpen. Depending on other offseason movement, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals could all be in the market for a closer too.
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Moore could get some cost-controllable talent from a playoff team for Davis, which puts him in a position of strength. Of course that assumes Davis’ arm checks out fine with another team’s doctors, but that looks like the only possible roadblock to a deal very early in the offseason.