The Kansas City Royals have finally played their ace, trading Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress and former prospects Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar. John Maunel of Baseball America has the complete breakdown of the deal.
Views on the trade thus far have differed, but the general consensus is that the Brewers are going all-in for the 2011 season while the Royals have added depth to an already impressive farm system. Frankie Piliere of FanHouse.com loves the deal for the Royals, while Keith Law of ESPN.com questions their ability to land at least one "impact guy," comparing this deal to the one they made for Carlos Beltran, based more abound organizational need than value. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com, who in addition to being an analyst is also a Royals fan, appears to be reserving judgement until down the road, but admits that this pushes the rebuilding timetable back yet another year. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star also shares his thoughts.
The Royals likely could have held out for a prospect with a higher-ceiling, but that would have cost them in terms of the number of players in return. What they may have lost in quality, they made up for in quantity, and in the cases of Cain, Escobar, and Jeffress, players whose impact could be seen as soon as this season.
