Not a fan of Weeks at all.

If Kendrick could be had for a lower-level pitching prospect, I'd be ok with that.

But I have a feeling it would cost more than I'd like to see.

And certainly my hope is that the conversation at One Royal Way this morning is a realistic and honest one. If, right now, you're good enough to finish 81-81, what can and should be done to tilt that by another 7 or 8 wins? You won't be able to accomplish that on a pure value basis, so you'll have to get lucky, but can you realistically add 3-5 value wins over the rest of the year without setting your system on fire?

I think the answer is no. But trading Santana and Hochevar represents a way to give yourself a chance to get lucky this year while strengthening for next year and beyond. That's the right course of action.

Detroit got a solid bullpen arm in Veras from Houston. Veras has a very nice K/BB ration with 44/14 in just 43 innings. 2.93 ERA. Good pickup for a shaky Detroit bullpen.

Veras is a good pickup indeed for Detroit. I know a lot of people are adamantly against trading within the division, but I wouldn't have minded seeing the Royals deal Holland or Hoch to the Tigers. I think Boston is a good destination for both Santana and Hoch thouh.

Kendrick is too expensive....you don't like Weeks....then who do you like?

Your going to have to give something up for a guy like Kendrick. Ventura for Kendrick is a very possible deal. A pitching prospect for a proven big leaguer. We aren't going to be able to just throw them our trash and get a good player. Not how it works.

How would Howie Kendrick not help us next year? He wouldn't be a rent-a-player.

You know my stance on this...I want the Royals to be sellers, not buyers.

But if they insist on being a buyer...then Kendrick I guess might be the best guy out there.

I think they should give Kolton Wong from the Cardinals organization a long look.

Maybe even a Gordon Beckham or a Dustin Ackley.

I just think Weeks is extremely overpaid for a guy whose main asset is his power, but brings very little else to the table.

I have no issue with Kendrick...he'd be a massive upgrade for this team, but at what price?

I'm a sucker for prospects, but if the price would be equal in terms of outgoing talent, I'd take Ackley over Kendrick in a hot second. In fact, I'd offer to eat some bad Seattle contracts to make it work.

I don't like Weeks that much either, I was just bringing his name up for arguments sake. I like Ackley, and I like Wong a lot. Beckham...not so much.

Thats my point on the price of Kendrick or one of these other guys. Its going to involve Ventura, Zimmer, Duffy or one of those guys.

I would take Kendrick for Ventura in a heartbeat. But not sure if even that would get it done.

If the Royals don't think Ventura projects out as a starting pitcher in the big leagues, then by all means, trading him for Kendrick makes a lot of sense.

I'm still confused as to why they've moved Will Smith into the bullpen seemingly permanently. Stupid move.

If they think he's only a reliever at best, and plan on using him as one, then they should trade him as well.

I never said--or even implied--that Kendrick wouldn't help the Royals next year. But $10M (his salary in 2014 and 2015) is a steep price. And who are the Angels going to hold out for? Duffy? I've seen a package of Duffy, Cuthbert, and Brickhouse suggested. No thanks. And that's probably the lower end of what they would have to give for him.

Other teams are going to offer more. You know, teams that actually have a legitimate chance at winning now (note: winning now is NOT 81-81 or 84-78).

I'm with Chris on this one. Kendrick is probably the best move that the Royals can make if they go into buy mode. But there is no reason for them to go into buy mode. It's going to take a lot more than adding Kendrick (a 3-4 WAR guy) to make them a playoff team. Seriously. Yes, they have 32 games remaining against teams currently under .500 (some very much so), but they have also been under .500 for most of the season. They also have a lot of tough series left. 11 games against Detroit. 4 games against Boston. 3 against Washington. 3 against Texas.

If I'm the Royals, I deal Santana and Hoch for prospects. Good prospects. Because someone will be willing to give them up. Then you don't have Santana's $13.5M on the payroll or Hochevar's $5M and maybe you go get a long-term starting pitcher or a right fielder or a second baseman in free agency this off-season and bolster your farm system.

I consider it a win if the Royals get a good haul for Santana and Hoch, and sign a big fish (not someone like Cano, but how about a Garza? A Pence?) this off-season, assuming they don't get re-signed by their current clubs.

At the end of the day, it comes down to one simple question. Do you believe in the Royals' ability to finish the season 40-20? Like JFish said, that essentially means sweeping more series than you lose. I don't. That is why I believe they should be selling, despite this hot streak (that probably will continue against Minnesota). If you believe that this team, which has never had a 40-20 stretch in the Dayton Moore era, can finish 40-20, I applaud your optimism and respect your desire for them to buy now.

You can also look at it in a more complicated way:

Can Kansas City be 8 games better than Detroit the rest of the way? Absolutely not. So I'll rule out winning the division.

Can Kansas City be 3 games better than New York the rest of the way? Probably. Frankly, the Yankees success this year is shocking to me. Can KC be 5 games better than Cleveland the rest of the way? I'll give that a 50/50 shot. 4 games better than Texas? Probably not. If the postseason started today, none of those three teams would be in it.

6 games better than Baltimore? Maybe. I doubt it. That is their one and only hope. The 2nd wildcard spot. Because Boston and Tampa are in. Detroit is in. Oakland is almost certainly in. Their one thread of hope is being better than Baltimore, Texas, Cleveland, and New York the rest of the way. And not just better. Significantly better.

I see the writing on the wall. Santana isn't going to be dealt, nor is Hochevar. But they ought to be.

If KC got Gordon Beckham, it would be tough for me to watch them. Absolutely cannot stand how bad he is. I would really like to do a Santana for Wong type of deal since Carpenter is tearing it up for the Cards and their starting pitching could use some help. It would help out both teams right away considering KC needs a good 2nd baseman and STL needs to pull away from Pit and Cin in their division race.

Apparently the Royals are on Kendrick's no trade clause so not sure if that's viable.

I'm seeing that too.

They must have some inclination that Kendrick would waive that no-trade to come to KC if they are having conversations about Kendrick, no?

Or is Dayton that dumb?

No, I imagine it would be a 'waive the NTC' sort of thing. I can't imagine KC is any less desirable a team to play for than the Angels right now.