First, I'm opposed to the idea of trading Duncan The Younger.Hungary Jack wrote:I like Baby Dunc, but he is our most marketable trading chip, and we have a relative surplus of corner OF.
I would consider a Duncan for Zach Greinke swap. I am not sure the Royals would. Greinke is arbitration eligible, and the Royals are desparate for some power (only one player with >100 AB exceeded 100 OPS+ in 2007), but Greinke shows signs of coming into his own and probably will command a bigger price. Might Duncan + Thompson for Greinke get it done?
Greinke had some sort of meltdown a couple years ago. If he's over that, he's a high quality SP and he almost certainly figures in the Royals long term plans.
Dayton Moore says all the right things. The question is whether David Glass will actually fork over the bucks to make it work over there. He allowed some spending last winter, but I could see him doing a Billy Bidwill and cutting off the funding when the Royals are on the verge of becoming a legit post season contender.
I also can't see the Royals trading a pitcher with a potential big contract coming for a position player with a potential big contract.