Royals Acquire Melky Cabrera

Royals Get: Melky Cabrera (13 HR, 56 RBI, .295 AVG, 0 SB, 105 wRC+, Age 32)
Cash considerations
White Sox Get: A.J. Puckett (9-7, 3.90 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 98/46 K/BB at High Class A, Age 22)
Andre Davis (5-4, 4.83 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 87/23 K/BB at Class A, Age 23)

The red hot Royals, just coming off a nine game winning streak, realized they actually have a shot now at the postseason, and added outfield depth in Melky Cabrera. They had to give up a pair of solid pitching prospects to get him, but neither are elite, and Cabrera can help give the struggling Alex Gordon (.201/.294/.296, 5 HR) a break in left field. Cabrera is an on-base machine, and it has helped him post wRC+'s over 100 in three of the past four seasons. This year, he is slashing .295/.336/.436 with 13 home runs, though mediocre defense has caused him to be worth just 0.8 fWAR. He's just a rental, as he'll be a free agent after the season, but this may be the last year in the Royals' run of contention before they are forced to rebuild. For his career, Cabrera, who played for Kansas City in 2011, has 127 home runs and a career .286/.337/.418 slash line over 1618 games.

Two more prospects are being added to the White Sox' super-farm system, though neither has the elite status of Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito, or Dylan Cease. A.J. Puckett was drafted in the second round (67th overall) last year out of Pepperdine after ranking 93rd on my pre-draft list, and he's met second round expectations so far. Through 20 starts at High Class A Wilmington this year, he's 9-7 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP, striking out 98 and walking 46 in 108.1 innings. He uses a fastball/changeup combination to get hitters out, but the development of his curveball will be his key to remaining a starter down the line, where he could be a #3 or #4 guy. If the curveball never develops, he can fall back as a solid reliever. The 22 year old earned some press before the 2016 draft due to having spent two weeks in 2011 in a medically-induced coma after a car accident. Andre Davis wasn't a very heralded prospect, even in the weak Royals system, where he was left out of MLB Pipeline's top 30 Royals prospects, and he'll likely get even more lost in the deep White Sox system, but he's an intriguing arm nonetheless. An eighth round pick out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2015, Davis has spent 2017 with Class A Lexington, going 5-4 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 18 starts, striking out 87 and walking 23 in 85.2 innings. I was on hand to see him start against Delmarva on July 13th, where he showcased a low 90's fastball and a promising curveball. The curve had good shape and was a swing and miss pitch when he could locate it, but it lacked sharpness at times and could be left up, where it would be hit. He's more of a depth piece than anything else, but he's 6'6" and left handed, so a conversion to the bullpen could shoot the 23 year old up depth charts.