The Royals have acquired Josh Willingham from the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jason Adam, per Darren Wolfson of ESPN. The move represents an upgrade in the power department for Kansas City, who have been sapped for it all year. Even despite the team’s recent win streak, the Royals have been playing without first baseman Eric Hosmer of late, who is on the DL with a stress fracture in his hand. Normal regular DH Billy Butler has been playing first, while veteran Raul Ibanez has assumed the DH role. Ibanez has been awful this year, hitting .193/.233/.386 with only two homers. Willingham hasn’t been much better (.210/.345/.402), but represents a clear upgrade in the on-base and slugging categories, and has also hit 12 homers while playing half of his games in the cavernous Target Field. Willingham will now most likely be the full-time DH.
In Adam, the Twins have received what is most likely an adequate return for a half-season rental (Willingham is a free agent in the winter) of a struggling veteran. Adam is currently in Triple-A, where in eight games he has found some success as a reliever. In albeit very limited time (15.1 IP), he’s posted a 2.35 ERA and 3.61 FIP. However, that’s a far cry better from the numbers he posted in Double-A earlier this year when he worked as a starter. In over 98.1 IP, he struggled to a 5.03 ERA, but may have been very unlucky as FIP gives him a 3.54 mark. It remains to be seen whether Adam, a 23 year-old who was selected in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, will continue to work out of the bullpen in the Minnesota system.
Willingham was traded after he cleared waivers, rather than being claimed by the Royals. The move represents a vote of confidence by GM Dayton Moore in a team that has rattled off seven consecutive victories coming into Monday’s action, while first place Detroit has seemingly stalled. The Tigers also recently placed valuable pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Joakim Soria on the disabled list, and it seems Moore smells blood in the water. The acquisition of Willingham should make the race in the AL Central even more cutthroat.
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