For the past few years, Danny Duffy’s name has routinely surfaced in trade rumors, both in the offseason and in the weeks approaching the Trade Deadline.

Why wouldn’t it? Duffy was among the highest-paid players on a rebuilding Royals team that had seen much of its championship roster move on since Kansas City won the World Series in 2015.

Through it all, Duffy has remained with the Royals, the organization that drafted him in the third round in 2007. During the 2017 Winter Meetings, one of the first times his name surfaced in trade rumors, the left-hander famously tweeted, “Bury me a Royal.”

Based on the way Duffy has started the 2021 season, nobody is happier that he’s still wearing a Royals uniform than general manager Dayton Moore, who said he has never really considered moving the lefty despite the perception that Duffy has constantly been on the block.

“It’s our job to listen, but there’s never been any real deep discussion,” Moore said. “For us, trading somebody like Danny, who has meant so much to our organization, is not something we’ve taken real seriously.

“If you believe in the person and you love the talent, you’re always going to stay with the player longer. That’s just been the case with Danny. He’s on quite a roll right now; he’s anchoring our staff and he’s a huge reason why we’re off to a solid start.”

Duffy has arguably been the best pitcher in the American League this season, going 4-1 with a 0.60 ERA in five starts to help the first-place Royals to a 16-11 record. He’s allowed two earned runs over 30 innings -- both coming on solo home runs -- bettering his career numbers in virtually every category through the first month of the season.

“He’s commanding his pitches, repeating his delivery and just doing a terrific job,” Moore said. “He’s locked in. Danny was a part of our first Draft, so we have a great appreciation for him and what he’s about. He’s got a great heart, he’s an unbelievable teammate, and he’s becoming more and more focused and more appreciative of being in the Major Leagues and of what he’s accomplished.”

Some have suggested in recent years that Duffy -- who pitched to a 4.68 ERA from 2018-20 and hasn’t seen his ERA finish below 3.00 since 2014 -- might be better off moving to the bullpen, where his low-to-mid 90s fastball would likely jump a tick or two. The Royals continued to envision the 32-year-old as a starter, both out of belief that he was best suited for that role and because he was needed in the rotation.

“Danny has always been a guy willing to do whatever the team needs him to do,” Moore said. “In the past couple years, he’s been caught in, ‘Do I want to continue being a starter or do I want to be a power reliever?’ He’s committed to the team needing him to start, so that’s what he’s doing.”

And doing it quite well. Duffy is in the final year of his five-year, $65 million extension, meaning he’s slated to hit the free-agent market next winter.

Will he stand by his “Bury me a Royal” demand, even if other suitors are willing to pay him more? Stay tuned.

Walk this way

Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros in several offensive categories through the first month of the season, including hits, RBI, OPS and total bases. But the one that stands out above all others is his walk total, which stood at a team-high 16 entering the week,

That was good for eighth place in the AL, and while that’s hardly headline worthy, it has caught the eye of some execs around the league.

“It’s been a better approach at the plate,” an AL executive said. “He’s been selective and patient.”

That’s been a noticeable change for the 36-year-old, who has already eclipsed his walk total from a year ago (12 in 230 plate appearances) and is already nearly halfway to his career-high (37 in 612 PA in 2019).

“Plate discipline is supposed to get better as you get older,” the exec said. “But this seems like a deliberate change in approach. It’s not luck.”

Sign of things to come?

Early reaction to Colorado’s decision to name Bill Schmidt the club’s new interim GM Monday was overwhelmingly positive, though that wasn’t a surprise given Schmidt’s reputation.

Schmidt has spent more than two decades with the Rockies -- the past 13 as vice president of scouting -- but it remains to be seen whether the Rockies will hire from within or bring in somebody from outside the organization when they conduct their full-time GM search at the conclusion of the season.

“He’s respected by everybody and is one of the most well-liked people in the business,” one source said. “Depending on how the rest of this year goes, he could actually have a shot to keep the job full-time.”

Schmidt will have a lot on his plate in the coming months; the Rockies are off to a slow start and play in a loaded NL West. With Trevor Story headed for free agency this fall (in addition to Jon Gray and Mychal Givens), Schmidt will have some tough decisions to make between now and the July 30 Trade Deadline.