ROYALS BRING BACK MELKY CABRERA
The Kansas City Royals acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera and cash from the Chicago White Sox for pitchers A.J. Puckett and Andre Davis.
What does it give the Kansas City Royals
Cabrera spent one season with the Royals back in 2011, and since then has played for the Giants, Blue Jays and White Sox. He is a quality, veteran switch-hitter who should provide more offensive punch to the surging Royals. A free agent at the end of 2017 like several other Royals, Cabrera may play left field (where he has spent most of his time in recent years), which may force Alex Gordon to move over to right field to platoon with rookie Jorge Polanco. Cabrera may also see time as the DH, which could cut into Brandon Moss's playing time. Either way, he should be a positive addition to a team looking to get back to the World Series in 2017.
What does it give the Chicago White Sox
The White Sox have done a masterful job of selling off assets in 2017, and are now among the organizations in MLB with the greatest prospects pool. In Puckett, Chicago lands a quality right-handed starting pitching prospect to add to their already-impressive stables. As for Davis, he is a huge left-hander with a good arm and strikeout ability. The 23-year-old southpaw may become a reliever eventually, or remain a starter. Either way, he is another decent addition to the Chicago farm system. He will face stiff competition to advance, though. The White Sox also sent some cash to Kansas City to help pay for the rest of Cabrera's '17 salary.
Fantasy impact
Cabrera is enjoying a solid '17 campaign, and that should not change now that he is in the thick of a pennant race with the Royals. In fact, he did not even leave the AL Central division with this deal. As for Puckett, his keeper value may actually slip a little because he could face stiffer competition to reach MLB among the myriad of quality pitching prospects in Chicago. Ditto Davis, who is not yet radar-worthy for keeper leagues because he may have to move to the bullpen--eventually.
