The 2017 edition of MLB’s Winter Meetings are winding down, but the rumors are still flying all over Orlando. While many of us live off these rumors to get through the cold months of the offseason, some can’t stand it. We can put Kansas City Royals left-handed hurler, Danny Duffy, in the latter category. At least when the trade rumors are about him.
This winter appears as though it’ll be a time of transition for the Royals — after two consecutive World Series appearance in 2014 and 2015 (with one win, of course), the team has missed the playoffs in each of the last two years. Furthermore, a quartet of their core — Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, and Alcides Escobar — are all free agents.
It looks like the organization’s run of recent success is officially in the past, and a rebuild could be on the horizon. Some players don’t want to stick around for a rebuild (Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins are a good recent example of that), but others are willing to stick through the lean times, especially when it’s the only organization they’ve known as a professional.
The Royals saw a bunch of their best players (no, I’m not counting Escobar and his career 72 wRC+ in that) depart via free agency, but they still have some assets that could be traded to help kick-start that rebuild. Duffy is one of those assets, and recent rumors have connected the lefty with teams like the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees.
It’s been a few days since that rumor emerged, so maybe Duffy is getting used to the idea of potentially getting traded?
https://twitter.com/duffkc41/status/941088403533131776
Yea, not exactly. He elaborated on this feeling in another tweet.
https://twitter.com/duffkc41/status/941104323215290368
None of this should be shocking.
It’s understandable for a player to have a desire to stay with their original team, especially one that has already tasted success with that organization/city. And while fans love the Winter Meetings because there are tons of rumors floating around to keep us busy at work, this is a subtle reminder that these ballplayers aren’t machines. They’re human beings that have feelings, hopes, and dreams, just like you and me.
The unfortunate reality in it all is that there are some tough decisions that all teams going through a rebuild will have to make. It’s doubtful that general manager Dayton Moore actually wants to trade Duffy, but if doing so brings back an attractive prospect package that the front office thinks will help shape the organization’s next championship core, then it has to happen.
As for those teams interested in his services, that also shouldn’t be shocking. The 2017 season was a bit rough since it included time on the disabled list and a DUI charge, but Duffy has a lot of things going in his favor. The 3.4 fWAR he produced in 146.1 innings of work is a single-season career high, and it’s the second straight year that number has been at least 2.7.
The lefty’s fastball velocity dropped two miles per hour compared to 2016, but he only threw that offering 47.4% of the time. He used his slider (29.4%) and changeup (22.7%) more than ever, limiting opposing hitters to a 60 wRC+ on each pitch. Duffy is a fly-ball pitcher (41.4% career fly-ball rate), but the 29.8% hard-hit rate he allowed this past year was a big improvement from 2016 (36.6%) and more in line with his career norm (30.8%).
The most attractive part about him to other teams, though? His contract.
The Royals signed Duffy to a five-year, $65 million contract extension last January, a deal that will take him through his age-33 season — which will presumably be his best years as a big leaguer.
So, it makes sense as to why teams are interested in his services, but it also makes sense as to why he doesn’t want to put on another uniform. Soon enough, we’ll find out whether Duffy gets his wish, or if he’s forced to begin a new chapter in a new city with fond memories of KC implanted in his mind forever.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference. Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
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