Royals Trade Graffanino and Shutout Indians

The Royals dealt Tony Graffanino for 25-year-old outfielder Chip Ambres and 21-year-old LHP Juan Cedeno. The Royals will also send Boston a player to be named later, although the Royals news release didn't note this but most other articles did. Cedeno's numbers aren't very impressive. He has a 5.49 ERA and has allowed 11 HRs, 37 walks, and 85 hits in 80 1/3 innings. Cedeno has a fastball that can reach 96 mph and may add some velocity. But, he still needs to refine his command and develop his curveball. Cedeno has a lot of upside, but has struggled this year. The Royals are sending him to Wichita, I guess to avoid High Desert, even though Cedeno was struggling at High A ball. The Royals haven't ruled out making him a starter, but his command and secondary pitches will need improvement.

Ambres has spent 7 years in the minors and is having his best season as a professional. He has the tools to succeed as a 4th outfielder and should add some speed and good plate discipline to a ballclub that doesn't have much of either of those things. Ambres is hitting .294/.401/.495 with 10 HRs and 19 stolen bases in 24 attempts.

Overall, it seems like a fairly good deal for the Royals. Cedeno has a lot of upside, as there aren't many lefties with mid-90s fastballs and a potential plus curve. Ambres could be a good 4th outfielder for the Royals and add some speed off the bench. It'll be interesting to see who the player to be named later is though. That could alter my opinion of the trade. At first glance, I'd give the trade a B. It's about as much as you could hope to get in return for a utility player who becomes a free agent at the end of the year. Graffanino was a good veteran for the Royals to have around. But, he'll get a chance to play on a playoff contender. Best wishes to him.

The Royals shutout the Indians, their second shutout in 3 games. Zack Greinke pitched 7 scoreless innings and struck out 4. Greinke did a good job of mixing his pitches and had command of all of his pitches. He also threw his good, 93-95 mph fastball and struck out some hitters with it. Greinke is most effective when he mixes his pitches and has pinpoint control. Greinke also needs to stay away from overusing his changeup and two-seam fastball. Hitters seem to sit on those two pitches and the movement on those two pitches seems to cause the ball to end up in the middle of the plate too often. Greinke has also ran up his pitch counts and seems to lack the endurance to finish games. I think a good offseason conditioning program would help him. Overall, most of the hits against Greinke tonight were infield hits and bobbled balls by the middle infielders. It's looking like Zack Greinke is returning to form. Burgos and MacDougal kept the shutout going. Burgos is back to his pre-injury form, with a 98 mph fastball and a very good splitter.