Royals GM says Merrifield not on market: 'We need him in our city'

When the non-waiver trade deadline comes and goes on Tuesday, at least one of the many middle infielders popping up in rumors will remain with his current team.

Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore said that he will not trade second baseman Whit Merrifield, at least not before August.

"I can't predict the future," Moore told Jon Heyman of Fancred regarding a potential trade down the line. "But (Merrifield) certainly won't be traded at the deadline. We need him in our city and on our team."

Merrifield, 29, was rumored to be available early in the year, as Kansas City seemed like an obvious team to pivot toward selling. However, the Royals were in no rush to deal him, as Merrifield is still pre-arbitration and under team control through the 2022 season.

While other positions, such as starting pitching, are under-represented in this year's trade market, infielders seem to be readily available. The presumed availability of Asdrubal Cabrera, Jonathan Schoop, Brian Dozier, and Eduardo Escobar, as well as Royals teammate Mike Moustakas, could have worked to hamper Merrifield's value.

While making the occasional outfield appearance as well, the speedy Merrifield has posted a .302/.372/.427 slash line with five home runs and 21 stolen bases. Merrifield has been far and away the most valuable player on the Royals roster, at 3.2 WAR per FanGraphs' measure.