Quote:
Originally Posted by Three7s
He's far too good a hitter to be a part-time player, IMO.
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In all seriousness, I wonder what Cuthbert might actually cost, especially if he doesn't make a solid conversion to 2b.
I would say the Royals have no interest in moving him this year because they need Moustakas insurance. But if they get Moustakas re-signed or extended, surely he'd be made available.
The Cards still have precisely jack shit long-term at 3b but a wealth of pitching prospects. We have Luke Weaver at roughly the same age and service time as Cuthbert who projects as a nice long-term 3 or 4 in the rotation.
He got whacked around a bit during his call-up last year but it was really an issues of occasionally just being too hittable; a command vs. control thing. Strikeout and walk numbers were actually pretty good (walks a little high but nothing too far out of range and also completely out of character). He just had a tendency to give into hitters and groove one if he got behind; not shocking for a young pitcher really. And frankly, giving up 11 ER in your last 2.2 innings is going to make anyone's line look worse than he actually performed, especially over a small sample size.
Weaver for Cuthbert looks like a nice 'baseball trade' if Moustakas were extended. The Cards get their long-term 3b option and the Royals would get a middle of the rotation starter with some upside. The Royals would gain a year of age and a year of team control (perhaps even 2 if the Cards keep Weaver down more this year as I expect), but that's not a deal-breaker.
I still think there's a trade to be made between these two squads.