Royals Outfielders a possible fit in Seattle?

If you haven’t heard yet, the Royals have traded Zack Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt, and cash to the Brewers. In return, the Royals will be receiving Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffres.

This trade may have some impact on the Mariners. It appears that the Mariners have been looking for one more bat to platoon in the outfield. The Royals now have an excess of major league outfielders and a couple of these guys may be great fits for the Mariners.  

Gordon

Alex Gordon a former 2^nd overall pick has not produced up to expectations with the Royals in his career thus far. It looked that Gordon would factor into the Royals outfield this year but with the arrival of Cain, Francoeur, and Cabrera, the Royals may want to trade him. Last year he played right field, left field, third base, first base, and DH. His stats last year were disappointing once again. He hit .215 with 8 homeruns in 242 AB. He showed he has potential as he hit above .300 each year in the minors and showed great power.  A player like this may sometimes need a scenery change. The Mariners new hitting coach, Chris Chambliss, may be able to work with him and help get his career back on track.

Maier

Mitch Maier, another former 1^st round pick by the Royals is now 28 and has also not performed up to expectations. He played a majority of time in center field and right field, but he also played a little bit of left.  Maier hit .263 last year in 373 at bats. He also hit 6 homeruns and recorded 39 RBI. He also put up very good numbers in the minors but these have not translated over to the bigs.

Both of these guys are pretty similar physically when looking up front at them. Both bat left handed and throw right handed. Maier is at 6’2” and 215lb. Gordon is 6’2” and 220lb.

Now who would the Mariners give up in a trade like this? Some names that come to mind are Luke French, David Pauley, Marucio Robles, and Rob Johnson. With the departure of Greinke the Royals may be looking for some pitching and one of the pitchers mentioned above could be a solid back end of the rotation guy. The Royals also lack catching and with the Mariners recently designating Johnson for assignment they have the opportunity to trade him. The Royals appear to be in need of a catcher. He plays well defensively and he calls a good game. He could be a good leader to all of the young guys in the young Royals organization. Out of the two players I think that Maier would be a cheaper option than Gordon. Maier does not have as much potential or upside being that Gordon was a former number 2 overall pick.

These guys have not shown good offensive numbers thus far in their career so it would be somewhat of a gamble. The Mariners would not be giving up too much for one of them so it would not come at a huge risk. A scenery change or working with new coaches may turn out great for these players and would work out great for the Mariners as well.