Kuzul

The Kansas City Royals made news this offseason when they announced that the team would be willing to deal All-Star closer Joakim Soria for the right price.

Many began to think that the club was going to deal the talented 26-year-old Soria, especially after it was reported that Soria himself said that he would be willing to go to a team like the New York Yankees.

Now, after most of the MLB offseason dust has settled, Soria is still a Royal. Here are some reasons KC will not trade him and he is here to stay in Kansas City.

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In a surprise announcement, the Kansas City Royals have sent out a press release that RHP Gil Meche will retire, effective immediately.

Meche, who is only 32 years old but has fought injuries, spent the past four seasons with the Royals after beginning his career with the Seattle Mariners. He was drafted 22nd overall in the first round of the 1996 MLB Amateur Draft.

Though he had mediocre success while in Seattle, the Royals handed Meche a five-year, $55 million contract after the 2006 season, which at the time matched Mike Sweeney for the largest contract in franchise history.

Due to baseball contracts being guaranteed, Meche could have stayed with the club and collected the salary from the final year of his contract, even if was unable to pitch. There was some thought that he may pitch out of the bullpen if healthy.

Meche finishes his career with an 84-83 record and a 4.49 ERA.

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If you don’t know who Kila Ka’aihue is, I wouldn’t be surprised. Ka’aihue is the projected 2011 starting first baseman for the Kansas City Royals.

Yes, I am aware that no Royals player has hit 100 RBI since Carlos Beltran in 2003. Yes, I am aware that the Royals ranked 20th in 2010 in runs scored with only 676.

But listen to me: Kila Ka’aihue is poised to have a great season in 2011. He is his team’s only hitter with any real power (sorry Billy Butler).

Before going in-depth about Ka’aihue, let’s first establish a basic foundation about the Royals and Ka’aihue.

Contrary to popular belief, the Royals are actually a team that a power hitter can thrive on. Their offense is loaded with potential runs; they ranked second in the league in batting average (.274) and eighth in stolen bases (115) in 2010. That is impressive by any standards.

So why did they rank 20th in runs last year? Well, to be frank, they had nobody to drive in runs. Many people thought Billy Butler would be that guy, but he is really more of a hitter who hits for average as opposed to home runs or RBI. This leaves a gaping hole in the Royals lineup, a need for a run producer.

So there it is; the scene is set for Ka’aihue, a 26-year-old left-handed hitter who has been in the Royals organization since 2005. In that time, Ka’aihue has shown tremendous potential, winning many player of the week/month awards and making all-star teams in all different leagues, most recently making the 2010 Pacific Coast League midseason All-Star team.

Okay, now that you know the guy, let’s get down to some stats. Why do I think this will be the guy who drives in 100 runs for the first time for the franchise since ’03?

If you do not know the statistic ISO, what it is is a measure of a player’s pure power; it incorporates doubles, triples and home runs. In 2008 (AA), in 376 plate appearances, Ka’aihue posted a .310 ISO. That same year, in AAA, his ISO was .325 in 139 plate appearances. Moving on to 2009, in AAA, Ka’aihue’s ISO was .181. Finally, in AAA in 2010, Ka’aihue’s ISO was .279.

If you haven’t heard of ISO, these numbers probably mean nothing to you. So let me put them in some context: In 2010, Albert Pujols’ ISO was .284 (his career ISO is .293).

As you can see, Ka’aihue has the potential to hit for power. This potential translated into results for Ka’aihue in 2010 (AAA), as he hit 24 home runs in only 323 at-bats. That is off the charts. In a 600 at-bat season, that would translate to 44.6 home runs. Not to mention his batting average during that span was .322. 

Ka’aihue has had two brief stints in the majors; he has compiled 64 games and 201 at-bats between the two. During that span, he has hit .224 with nine home runs (26.7 HR pace over 600 ABs). His BABIP during these at-bats was only .237, showing that he was extremely unlucky. Ka’aihue’s power has translated well to the majors to this point; while still adjusting, his first 201 at-bats were very strong.

Last Royal to hit 27 home runs? Carlos Beltran with 29 in 2002. 2002! Ka’aihue is the guy the Royals have been waiting for since Beltran left, and even Beltran wasn’t a big power hitter. 

Kila Ka’aihue 2011 Projection: .262 average, 27 home runs, 98 RBI, two stolen bases, 71 runs

I’m going all in on Ka’aihue this year. He’s my No. 1 sleeper, and he should be yours too.

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The Kansas City Royals had two prized pitchers heading into the offseason. The first was 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke. He was known to be available after having voiced his disgust with the Royals, and a few months later, they shipped him to the Milwaukee Brewers for four of the Brewers’ top prospects.

According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the press release had barely gone public when teams started calling about the Royals’ second most valued commodity—closer, Joakim Soria.

Soria, 26, has been nicknamed “The Mexicutioner,” and it should be fairly obvious why: When he enters the ball game in the ninth inning, the opponent’s hopes of winning are all but dead.

Since becoming a full time reliever in 2007, Soria has been electric, appearing in a total of 238 games, posting a record of 8-10, with an ERA of just 2.01. Through age 26, he has converted 238 saves for the bottom dwelling, Kansas City Royals, and has blow just 13 saves over the course of his career. By the time his career is finished, he could be one of the greatest closers baseball has ever seen.

So why would the Royals want to trade him?

Though they’re not stuck in the same predicament they were with Greinke, the Royals interest in trading Soria would be more of a want than a necessity. Soria is signed to a team friendly deal through the 2011 season, with club options that become guaranteed with various in-game feats for each season through 2014.

Soria’s contract is one of his best selling points, and has drawn the interest of large market teams like the New York Yankees, who were rumored to have offered their top prospect, catcher/DH Jesus Montero, straight up for the Royals’ closer. The Yankees were denied because of the depth of the Royals’ farm system in that position, but the point is clear: teams are willing to give up their best to acquire Soria. Why is that?

In short, he has been absolutely dominant as a closer. Last season alone, he posted a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 1.78 for the Royals, converting 43 saves. Take into consideration that the Royals won just 67 games in 2010.

That means that Soria saved more than 64 percent of all Royals wins in 2010. Imagine what he can do with an annual contender like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, or as this article is concerned, the Philadelphia Phillies.

With Brad Lidge already in tow, why would the Phillies consider Soria?

When he is completely healthy, Lidge is one of the best closers in baseball. He showed flashes of that brilliance at the end of the 2010 season, where he posted an ERA of 0.76 over the final three months of the season, and reduced his blown saves from 11 in 2009 to just five in 2010. It is his inconsistency that has worried the Phillies organization, however.

Before he returned to form in those final three months, Lidge posted an ERA of 6.52 in the months of June and July. Aside from his on the field performance, Lidge is almost sure to become a free agent after the 2011 season, since the Phillies hold a hefty option for 2012 that is sure to be declined.

The Phillies also boast a set-up man that has “closer stuff,” in right-hander Ryan Madson. Madson was much better—and more consistent, for that matter—than Lidge in 2010. He posted a 6-2 with an ERA of 2.55, and despite missing a significant amount of time with a broken toe, recorded 15 holds to effectively set up Lidge.

Like Lidge, however, Madson will become a free agent after the 2011 season, and though he is more likely to return to the Phillies than his closer counterpart, he is a Scott Boras client, and will surely make the Phillies sweat it out and ask for a big pay day.

With the uncertainty of the Phillies bullpen after the 2011 season, why not make a play for the golden standard?

According to Baseball America and numerous other prospect gurus, the Royals have the most talented, deepest farm system in baseball. With names like Mike Montgomery, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Wil Meyers in their system, the Royals made it clear that they will not just settle for a team’s top prospect. In any deal for any of their star players, they are going to fill areas of need with young, talented players.

General Manager Dayton Moore made it clear that he was going to seek a middle infielder, a center fielder and pitching help for Zack Greinke’s services, and what did he do? He went out and acquired shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and pitchers Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi from the Milwaukee Brewers. So what’s left to upgrade?

From an outsider’s perspective, the Royals appear to need the most help in the outfield, in the starting rotation, in the bullpen, and behind the plate. If the Phillies were going to express interest in Soria, they could help fill each of those areas. Any deal for Soria would surely start with baseball’s top prospect, outfielder Domonic Brown.

Though he had a less than impressive debut, Brown mashed minor league pitching, posting a slash line of .332/.391/.582, with 20 home runs. He is the standard five tool player, and will transition into one of baseball’s premier outfielders.

The Phillies could also offer a bevy of relief prospects, highlighted by right hander, Justin DeFratus. He posted ERAs below 2.20 at three different levels in the Phillies’ system in 2010, and was added to the 40-man roster earlier in the winter.

Combined with any number of starting pitching prospects like Trevor May, Jarred Cosart, or Brody Colvin and talented defensive catcher Sebastian Valle, and the Phillies could put together an impressive package.

That seems to be where most teams put Dayton Moore on hold. How do you value a pitcher that is going to throw a maximum of 70 innings pitched? According to some sources, the Phillies wouldn’t be ridiculous to offer Domonic Brown straight up for Soria, but like the Yankees, they would probably be turned down.

As mentioned earlier, Soria has an extremely team friendly contract that should up his value. If the Phillies were to offer Domonic Brown, Justin DeFratus and another player, I think it would be hard to turn that package down.

Soria himself could also be an obstacle to a deal. He has a partial no trade clause that blocks, among other teams, the Phillies. Though recent reports suggest that Soria wouldn’t block a trade to any team, he could use his no-trade clause as leverage to negotiate an extension with a new team. That, is a different discussion all together.

At the end of the day, Soria seems like a perfect fit for the Phillies bullpen. Assuming that they could move Joe Blanton, he’d make just half of what the starter is due in 2011.

Assuming that he’d be the go-to guy in the ninth inning, the Phillies would be able to turn to Jose Contreras, JC Romero, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge in some combination from the sixth inning onward, and with their four horseman manning the rotation, how often would they be necessary?

It would easily be the greatest pitching staff of all time, and certainly complies with General Manager Ruben Amaro’s philosophy that pitching wins championships.

I suppose it comes down to the discussion, who is more valuable going forward—Joakim Soria or Domonic Brown?

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Every team is looking for the next breakout prospect that can join the team in the middle of the year and provide a spark to their lineup. Fantasy owners also look for these prospects who can lead their team to a championship.

Looking at this year’s prospects, there appear to be a few players who can follow in the footsteps of Buster Posey and have an immediate impact for their Major League club.

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The mid 2000’s was not the most memorable period to be an Atlanta Braves fan.  Coming off of three straight first-round exits in the playoffs, there was an unavoidable thought in the Braves community during the ‘04-05 offseason that Atlanta’s reign of supremacy was nearing an end. 

There wasn’t much sympathy to be found in the baseball community, however.  Atlanta fans had the reputation for being spoiled—although there were many teams that would’ve enjoyed a single postseason appearance, the Braves made it a habit of finding their way to the playoffs year after year due to trademark performances.

But there was a sense that some of these trademarks were coming to an end in the ‘04-05 offseason.  The previous year, Greg Maddux departed Atlanta to return to the Cubs.  A few years prior, Tom Glavine left for the Mets. 

While Atlanta fans were a bit remorseful about these departures, the organization still had household names associated with it.  There were those that had been with the club since their World Series title in 1995 (e.g. Chipper Jones, John Smoltz and Bobby Cox) and some that had been with the club for a number of playoff appearances, but no World Series titles (e.g. Andruw Jones). 

But the sense of a declining era of dominance was looming—Chipper, Smoltz and Cox weren’t getting any younger.  Andruw Jones was still young, but his future with the club was uncertain.  Thus, many Braves fans were relying on a promising crop of farm products to fill in the gaps. 

One of these farm products was Jeff Francoeur.  After being named the top prospect in the Atlanta organization in 2004, many Braves fans thought that the future of the franchise rested partly in his hands.  Furthermore, with the departure of J.D. Drew in the ’04-05 offseason, there was a hole that needed to be filled in right field. 

Although Raul Mondesi was added to the roster to temporarily fill this gap, Braves fans were expecting to see the debut of Francoeur sometime in the 2005 season.  As expected, Francoeur made his first major league appearance in July of that year.  While more recent Braves fans have become accustomed to seeing hyped-up farm products hit a home run in their first game (e.g. Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward), Francoeur’s home run in the eight inning of his debut was extremely symbolic.  With it came the confirmation that he would indeed live up to the expectations and carry the franchise back to a dominant state.

As the Braves made a push for another consecutive postseason appearance, Francoeur didn’t slow down.  He finished the 2005 season hitting .300 with 14 HRs and 45 RBIs (274 PAs).  Although Atlanta witnessed another first-round exit in the playoffs that year, there was a sense of optimism amongst the collective Braves community.  There was a new generation of players being ushered in, and Jeff Francoeur (along with Brian McCann) gave the impression that the direction Atlanta was headed in was, in fact, the right one.

The following season, Francoeur continued to deliver.  He finished 2006 hitting .260 with 29 HRs and 103 RBIs, appearing in all 162 regular season games. But there was a growing reputation for how to pitch to the young hitter—don’t throw him anything over the plate, especially not the first pitch. 

Francoeur swung at 52 percent of first pitches in 2006 and at 36 percent of balls out of the strike zone.  This led to an abysmal .293 OBP and only 23 BBs in 686 PAs.  Opposing pitching was quick to identify this trend and routinely forced Francoeur to swing at bad pitches.  To counter this inevitable strategy, Francoeur and then-hitting coach Terry Pendleton made it their number one priority in the ‘06-07 offseason to improve Francoeur’s plate discipline. 

One could argue how effective this approach ultimately was, but in 2007 Francoeur nearly doubled his BBs (42) and added nearly 50 points to his OBP (.338) while still putting up decent run production (19 HRs and 105 RBIs).  Braves fans were reassured time and time again that Francoeur’s plate discipline was a work-in-progress, but he was nonetheless perceived as a free-swinging outfielder who, despite his trigger happiness, would always give you phenomenal defense (Francoeur won the Gold Glove in 2007) and would stay off the disabled list (Francoeur appeared in 370 consecutive games between ’05-08).

The 2008 season made it clear that pitchers were figuring out Francoeur faster than he was.  Francoeur’s numbers dropped in several categories compared to the 2007 season (-8 HRs, -34 RBIs, -.054 BA, -.044 OBP) and he was still swinging at 43 percent of first pitches and at 36 percent of pitches out of the zone.  Trying to spark a flame in Francoeur’s performance, the Braves designated him to a brief stint in the minors during the 2008 season. The optimism for Francoeur was steadily declining, and it was becoming increasingly clear that something drastic had to change in his approach or else the Braves might look to deal.

Sure enough, Francoeur was shipped to the Mets in July of 2009.  I vividly remember hearing the news, feeling disappointed in both the decision to trade and what was given in return (Ryan Church).  I, like many others, was confident that Francoeur would eventually snap of his slump and post numbers more reminiscent of his ’06 and ’07 campaigns.  Nonetheless, Atlanta’s front office felt differently and in four years Francoeur went from representing the future of the franchise to an example of how ambiguous a player’s potential can truly be.

Despite Francoeur’s roster position with a rivaled franchise, I continued to stay optimistic about his abilities.  But as his time with the Mets expanded to the 2010 season, Francoeur proved that old habits die hard.  While fluctuating in and out of everyday duties with the Mets, Francoeur’s low OBP and declining run production were proving to be commonalities rather than exemptions.  As the 2010 season was coming to an end, the Mets shipped Francoeur off to the Rangers, a team that had secured a postseason birth and was looking to add depth to their playoff roster.  Francoeur proceeded to go on a tear that September, batting .340 in 15 games/56 PAs before cooling off in the postseason. 

At the beginning of this offseason, Francoeur’s name wasn’t near the top of many organizations’ targeted free-agent lists.  He was, however, viewed as a potential platoon player in Philadelphia and a potential everyday player in Kansas City.  Francoeur signed a one-year deal with the Royals in early December and will serve as the opening day right fielder for the club.  The question for Royals fans, and for the Braves fans that still cheer him on, is whether he can return to his previous form or if his 2008 mediocrity will prevail.  While there are obviously a number of variables into how 2011 will turn out for Francoeur, I argue that Kansas City may prove to be a catalyst for Francoeur’s career.

The most important thing to consider is the environment in Kansas City.  Realistically, this is the first time in his major league career that Francoeur will be in a situation free of pressure.  During his entire tenure in Atlanta, from the time he made his debut until the day he was traded, there was an overwhelming amount of pressure placed on Francoeur. 

I don’t define this pressure as the expectations that were placed on him immediately—he posted respectable numbers despite the heavy media attention.  There was an entirely different dimension of pressure placed on Francoeur that dealt with his approach to hitting.  Once the new car smell wore off of Francoeur, fans and ownership began questioning whether he could change his approach to hitting to counter the ways pitchers were handling him.  This pressure undoubtedly took a mental toll on Francoeur; he was told to inhibit his natural tendencies in order to work on his OBP. 

While these concerns were never expressed vocally, my impression whenever Francoeur stepped up to the plate was that he was going up there trying to do what the coaches wanted rather than doing what felt natural to him.  I could be entirely wrong, but the stats seem to support this theory.

When Francoeur was traded to New York, Atlanta stated that they wanted him to enjoy the benefits of a new environment.  While it may have been a new environment, it wasn’t necessarily a pressure-free situation.  The media-heavy baseball landscape in New York isn’t forgiving to players’ performances, and one can question whether Francoeur ever felt pressure-free in New York, let alone comfortable.  Even when he was traded to Texas in late 2010, Francoeur was placed into an organization that was pushing for a World Series title.

Therefore, one can make a strong argument that Francoeur has never been in a pressure- or expectation-free environment.  While there will certainly be expectations placed on him in Kansas City, that’s an entirely different component than pressure.  There was no pressure on Francoeur during his early days in Atlanta, only expectations.  The pressure began to set in once his abilities came into question; pressures that have remained with him up until the conclusion of the 2010 season. 

Francoeur made it clear in his inaugural Kansas City press conference that he felt comfortable and excited for the upcoming season.  The smile on his face was one I believed to be genuine and reminiscent of his early days in Atlanta and his hot streak in Texas. 

While certain writers (e.g. Aaron Gleeman at Hardball Talk) have mocked those of us who wish to evaluate a circumstance based on the presence or absence of a smile, those of us who have followed Francoeur throughout his entire career realize that this smile was largely absent in Atlanta and New York—not just during his cold streaks, but even before the cold streaks began.  Once the pressure began to set in on Francoeur in 2008, that smile began to disappear for long periods at a time.   

Now that Francoeur is in a pressure-free environment and a situation he’s comfortable with, time will tell what he’s still capable of.  I’m not going to give any bold predictions for how I think he’ll perform in 2011, because I honestly don’t know which Jeff Francoeur will show up.  He’s stated numerous times that he’s no longer home-run biased and instead tries to go where the pitch takes him.  Thus, I’m not going to predict that he’ll hit around 30 HRs like he did in 2006. 

It’s also unclear how Kansas City will approach him from the managerial standpoint.  Will they do as Atlanta did and try to work on his plate discipline?  That approach didn’t work out in Atlanta, but who’s to say how it would turn out in Kansas City. 

While I’m not going to give any statistical predictions for Francoeur’s 2011 season, I will state this: he’ll be playing in a pressure-free environment for the first time in many, many years.  Even though his time in New York was meant to serve as a new beginning, I never got that impression.  This is the first time in Francoeur’s career where I truly see a new jersey as a new beginning.  Whether that will translate into better numbers, I can’t say, but I do believe that Kansas City was the best fit for Francoeur and that Royals fans should be optimistic towards their opening day right fielder.

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As soon as free agent starting pitcher Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, all eyes shifted to Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.

Amid questions of anxiety disorder, the list of teams able to trade for the 2009 Cy Young winner was short.

The New York Yankees, having lost out on signing Lee, seemed likely to target Greinke, but the idea of Greinke being able to handle pitching in New York was a bit far-fetched.

The Texas Rangers, having also lost out on Lee, were also seen as a potential landing spot.

However, in the end, the Royals traded their ace to the Brewers for four prospects: OF Lorenzo Cain, SS Alcides Escobar and minor league pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress.

Depending on your opinion of Greinke, you might view the prospects Kansas City got in return for Greinke to be quite the haul.

Other than his 2009 Cy Young campaign, Greinke has never had an ERA under 3.47 or struck out more than 200 batters.

At one time, Greinke even contemplated quitting baseball.

You have to give him credit for keeping his head down and pressing on through his anxiety issues, but he really isn’t that great of a pitcher.

That said, Greinke was one of the better pitchers available through a trade, so the Brewers made the right move here.

But could the Royals have gotten a better haul from another team?

The Royals’ asking price for Greinke was said to be very high, but you wouldn’t know it from the package they got from Milwaukee.

Escobar, a defensive wonder at shortstop, posted an OBP of just .288 last season in 145 games. He isn’t going to hit for much power, but he still only hit .235. He did collect 10 triples, but triples aren’t important if you only score 57 runs.

Cain is a decent outfielder (career minor league fielding percentage of .976) but has almost nothing to offer in the power department. In six years in the minors, Cain hit just 31 home runs and has a slugging percentage of .416.

In 43 games in the majors last season, he hit .306 with one homer and 13 RBI. There isn’t anything about Cain that jumps off the page or makes you think he’s going to be much more than a defensive outfielder.

As for the pitchers the Royals received for Greinke, patience is going to be key for the Royals.

Jake Odorizzi is just 20 years old and has some promise but pitched in the Class-A Midwest League last season. He has four average or above average pitches with plenty of room to grow. He throws both a two-seam and four-seam fastball, and the two-seamer has good movement to either side of the plate.

Odorizzi should move up the minors quickly since he has a good repertoire, but we’re probably talking three or four years for an appearance in the majors.

Jeremy Jeffress appeared in 10 games for the Brewers last season, posting a 2.70 ERA and eight strikeouts in 10 IP. Stuff-wise, Jeffress has the goods. His fastball is explosive, with 100-plus mph potential, and he possesses a breaking ball that can be a great out pitch.

However, he has served two suspensions for marijuana use while in the minors, so his mental makeup is a question mark.

Over the last few years, teams who have traded an ace pitcher haven’t always brought in a wealth of talent.

When the Minnesota Twins traded Johan Santana to the New York Mets in 2008, they received Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. A quick glance at those names indicates the Mets stole Santana, but it could really go either way given Santana’s injury history since joining the Mets.

Also in 2008, the Cleveland Indians sent ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers for Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson. LaPorta was a big minor league prospect at the time but hasn’t impressed so far in the major leagues.

The Royals had to trade Greinke. They’re going nowhere in their division but have a lot of minor league talent on the way. When Greinke hit free agency in 2013, he was sure to take a big paycheck and pitch elsewhere. Make no mistake—it hurts Royals fans to watch their ace leave, but it was the right move.

Despite the players the Royals received in return for Greinke, they did reasonably well. Escobar will start at shortstop next season, replacing Yuniesky Betancourt, and Cain could patrol center field.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals were also interested in trading for Greinke and were perhaps ahead of the Brewers in the pecking order.

But the Royals wanted Kyle Drabek in any trade with the Blue Jays, and that wasn’t going to happen. Nor were they going to get Jordan Zimmermann from the Nationals.

The trade with the Brewers was the right move and brought in a reasonable amount of talent given Greinke’s ability. The trade could actually go from “OK” to “great” for the Royals depending on the future performances of Jeffress and Odorizzi.

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Once it was announced that Cliff Lee was signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, Zack Greinke began to receive the most attention among pitchers, with various teams attempting to acquire the 2009 Cy Young winner.

ESPN’s Buster Olney has reported that Greinke has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, early Sunday morning, for outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress.  Royals shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt is also expected to be involved in the trade, along with $2 million.

Greinke was drafted sixth overall in 2002 and won the AL Cy Young in 2009 after pitching to a 16-8 record with a 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts.  If this deal does indeed go through, the Brewers pitching rotation will consist of Randy Wolf, Chris Narveson, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke.

The deal is not yet official, awaiting pending physicals and approval from commissioner Bud Selig.  

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After firing his agent on Friday, 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke has informed the Kansas City Royals that he wants to be traded, says Foxsports.com’s Jon Paul Morosi.

Greinke has a no-trade provision that allows him to block deals to 15 teams. One of the teams is the Yankees, who have expressed interest in the pitcher.

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Zack Greinke trade rumors have kicked up a few notches over the last 12 hours after reports surfaced that prized free agent Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Lee’s decision to sign with the Phillies over a larger offer from the New York Yankees and extreme interest from the Texas Rangers all but shocked the baseball world.

Lee joins Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in what will be perhaps the top starting rotation in all of baseball.

Throughout the highly anticipated free agency process, Greinke has served as sort of a backup option to teams in the event they did not land Lee.

Given the fact that both the Yankees and Rangers, along with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, have lost out on Lee and other prized free agents, expect the interest in a trade for Greinke to only increase.

Prior to news of Lee’s deal with the Phillies, it was reported that the Yankees would be reluctant to go after the Kansas City Royals right-hander if they missed out on Lee. New York’s contingency plan in the event that it lost out on Lee has always been focused on beefing up the bullpen.

Of course, these reports surfaced prior to news of Lee signing and when the Yankees, who had reportedly offered Lee a seven-year, $148 million deal, were bound to land the free agent. One can only wonder if New York’s Plan B changes this morning with the confirmation of Lee’s five-year, $120 million deal with Philadelphia.

Late Monday night, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported that the Kansas City Royals were “actively gauging” the trade market for Greinke. The Royals are reportedly looking for up-the-middle position players close to being ready for action in the big leagues. The report noted that the Yankees and Brewers were not among the best potential matches for a trade.

Other potential landing places for Greinke predicted in reports over the last few days include the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

With Lee off the table, Greinke is perhaps the top pitcher available for teams interested. The Royals know well that when Greinke becomes a free agent at the end of the 2012 season, they’re unlikely to have the resources to retain him.

All of that said, I don’t think this will come down to the bigger market teams like the Yankees swooping in and picking the right-hander up. The Royals value prospects highly, and it’s going to take the right package for Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.

The deal Lee signed is bound to leave the MLB Players Union scratching its head. Lee left money and years on the table by signing with Philadelphia. Both New York and Texas had reportedly offered him more than the five-year, $120 million deal he inked with the Phillies.

When it comes time for his next payday—regardless of which team it will be with—Greinke’s contract will surely be impacted by the bargain deal Lee signed.

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