The Kansas City Royals made an attempt to bolster their offense on Monday, striking a deal with the Minnesota Twins for outfielder/designated hitter Josh Willingham. The Royals sent minor league pitcher Jason Adam to Minnesota in exchange, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star.
Royals acquire Josh Willingham from Twins
The Royals added another bat for the stretch run, trading for Minnesota’s Josh Willingham.
Hannah Foslien
Kansas City is in the thick of the American League playoff race, despite getting lackluster production from the DH spot. Willingham will get a chance to bolster that production, as McCullough reports he will DH for the Royals, splitting time with Raul Ibanez. Kansas City designated hitters have combined to produce just a .626 OPS this season.
Whether Willingham can bolster that number remains to be seen. A very productive hitter as recently as 2012, his numbers have dropped off considerably this season. On the year, he’s hitting .210/.345/.402, though he’s fared better against left-handers, with a .243/.357/.429 line. Platooning with Ibanez, he doesn’t figure to face many right-handers the rest of the way.
The Royals took on salary in the deal, with McCullough reporting Kansas City will pay the what remains of Willingham’s $7 million salary in 2014. The front office received clearance from owner David Glass to make the move. In a curious coincidence, Willingham’s Twins just finished a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, and his new team is hosting the A’s for their own four-game set starting Monday; it’s not often that a player faces the same opponent for eight straight days.
The 23-year-old Adam has split time between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He opened the season as the No. 9 prospect in the Kansas City farm system according to MLB.com, but dropped to No. 16 in their midseason rankings. He worked as a starting pitcher in Double-A, but came out of the bullpen after making the move to Triple-A.
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