The Kansas City Royals are pretty well stocked in position players, but they could use rotation help even after trading for Jonathan Sanchez recently. Here is who I would go after if I were running the Royals:

1. Edwin Jackson - Righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson still has breakout potential, so I think a gamble on him would be a good one for the Royals. He could be the type of the rotation type starter that the Royals really need.

2. George Sherrill - The Royals could use another lefty reliever to team with Tim Collins in the bullpen. Sherrill is coming off a nice season with the Braves last year, so he would be a good fit with the Royals.

3. Jerry Hairston - Jerry Hairston is a very versatile player who can play almost everywhere. He could even win the starting job at 2B with the Royals.

The Royals have assets to deal this week but they are going to want young players back who are major league ready. Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur, Mike Aviles, Bruce Chen and Jeff Francis are going to be talked about a lot this week. Matt Treanor and Kila Ka’aihue are two other players who could be on the move this week. The Royals could decide to package players to maximize the return they can get in deals. For instance, the Pirates or Giants could use a shortstop and a catcher. The Royals would get more for Mike Aviles and Matt Treanor if they packaged them than they would get for one of them on individual deals. That being said, Mike Aviles has a lot of possible suitors other than the Giants and Pirates. Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur are also hot commodities with the Rays, Indians, Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Pirates, Diamondbacks and Red Sox needing outfield help. Bruce Chen and Jeff Francis are also going to be hot names on the trade market as there are not a lot of quality lefty starting pitchers available. The Royals need young outfielders, a catcher and young starting pitching back in deals this week as those are the areas they will need some help down the road.

Instead of an all out firesale, the Royals should try to deal spare parts to other teams for players that could help them down the road. Brandon Inge is struggling with the bat in Detroit, so the Royals should offer them 3B Wilson Betemit for young infielder Danny Worth. I think the Tigers would make that deal. The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to add a little bit, so it makes sense to offer them infielder Mike Aviles and catcher Matt Treanor for infielder Josh Harrison and catcher Jason Jaramillo. Neither, Aviles or Treanor have much of a future in K.C., so why not deal them for younger models? Finally, I think a flip of outfielder Mitch Maier to the Phillies for outfielder John Mayberry makes sense. John Mayberry’s dad (also John) was a really good first baseman for the Royals when they were really good.

The Kansas City Royals have already started their much anticipated youth movement. I look for that to continue at the trade deadline with the Royals making some deals to bring in more young talent. I can see the Royals making starting CF Melky Cabrera available with the idea of bringing up Lorenzo Cain to replace him in CF. I can also see the Royals putting Matt Treanor, Wilson Betemit, Mike Aviles, Kila Ka’aihue, Mitch Maier, Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies available at the trade deadline. They might even put Joakim Soria on the block if the can get a King’s ransom back for him. It would be smart of the Royals to move some of the players mentioned above to open up jobs for more up and coming players, while adding more young talent in return for those guys.

If the Kansas City Royals are going to re-sign 33-year old lefty starting pitcher Bruce Chen they need to do if before other teams can start talking to him. Chen pitched in 33 games (23 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 12-7 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 50 games (32 starts) in two years with the Royals and he is 13-13 with 1 save, a 4.66 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. There is not a lot of starting pitching available on the free agent market so if the Royals want to bring him back they should re-sign him right now and reward him for a solid 2009.