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New York Yankees News: Carlos Beltran To Kansas City Royals?

By Mark Suleymanov
Published on: 15:17 PST, Jul 17, 2016

Two weeks away from the July 31 MLB Trade Deadline, one of the biggest questions is whether or not the Yankees will stand pat, upgrade, or trade away some assets for prospects. Entering play on Sunday, the Yankees owned a 44-46 record, good for fourth place in the American League East, and nine games behind the Baltimore Orioles.

If the Yankees decide to sell, soon-to-be free agents such as closer Aroldis Chapman and switch-hitting outfielder Carlos Beltran are two of their best trade pieces. Beltran, 39, has garnered interest from one of his former teams.

According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees and Kansas City Royals have discussed a deal that would send Beltran to KC with right-hander Luke Hochevar heading back to New York. Beltran, who spent the first six-and-a-half years of his career with the Royals, would return to the organization that drafted him in the second round of the 1995 amateur draft.

Beltran was hitting a robust 0.294/0.332/0.539 with 19 homers and 58 runs batted in entering the Yankees’ series finale vs. the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

“No, I let them do what they want,” Beltran said to NJ Advance Media about the Yankees’ possible plans to trade him. “My focus is on playing the game and helping the team.”

During his 19-year career, Beltran has been involved in a trade deadline deal on two occasions. The first time was when the Royals traded him to the Houston Astros in 2004 in a three-team deal which also sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel from the Astros to the Oakland Athletics, while the Royals acquired Oakland youngsters Mike Wood and Mark Teahen, and Astros’ catcher John Buck. The second time was in 2011 when the New York Mets sent Beltran to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for then-top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.

Hochevar, the former No.1 overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft, has pitched well out of the Royals’ bullpen this season. In 37 games, he has pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 37 innings. After failing as a starting pitcher to begin his career, Hochevar made the switch to the bullpen, salvaging a career that otherwise was considered a major bust.

Hochevar is a free agent this offseason but does have a $7 million mutual options (which includes a $500,00 buyout). As MLB Trade Rumors mentions, it’s possible the Yankees explored acquiring Hochevar with the intention of trading either Chapman, Andrew Miller, or Dellin Betances.

Alex McKeon of Scout.com noted that the Yankees had a scout at lower-level minor league game on Sunday. If the talks are still ongoing, it’s possible that Hochevar is just a piece of a bigger trade.

King also noted that Miller is currently the Cubs “No.1 priority” on the trade market. After initial reports suggested that the Yankees want to hang onto Miller, who sports a 5-1 record with a 1.37 ERA in 38 games entering Sunday, he was informed that if the right offer presented himself, the Yankees would take the deal.

Miller has two more years of team control on the four-year, $36 million deal he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2015 season.

“I think there have certainly been moments of things getting passed back to me, some assurances like, ‘Hey, everyone else is maybe jumping the gun on this.’ For me, the best thing I can say is, whatever either Cashman or (manager) Joe (Girardi) says is going to be the truth because that’s the way they operate. I think that’s the best way to go with it,” Miller said to NJ Advance Media.

[Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]

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