"Any contending team in search of outfield help is getting an eyeful from Royals veteran Melky Cabrera as time ticks down to the 3 p.m. deadline Sunday for nonwaiver trades.

Cabrera produced his fifth career four-hit game Monday when the Royals pulled out a 3-1 victory over Boston in a 14-inning marathon at Fenway Park. That gave Cabrera a .400 average in his last 20 games and boosted his season mark to a club-leading .300.

He also has 19 runs, 14 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits in his 20-game surge.

So, it's not surprising that Cabrera's name keeps surfacing as a possible acquisition target for teams seeking to add an impact outfielder prior to the deadline. Those believed to be interested include Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Francisco.

Here's the kicker, though: No team might be more interested in Cabrera than the Royals. If so, that's fine. Cabrera says he's found a home and a comfort zone as the club's regular center fielder.

"I really want to be here in Kansas City," he said, "but I have no control over that. The only thing I can control is to go out there and have a good game and play as hard as I can. But if it was up to me, I'd stay here in Kansas City."

Club officials acknowledge they signed Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur to one-year deals last December with an eye toward flipping one or both at the trade deadline after buying development time for some younger outfielders.

"The thought was we would sign both of these guys and give them an opportunity," manager Ned Yost said. "If we got to June or July and they weren't cutting it, we'd make decisions. But both of those guys have bounced back real nicely."

Francoeur leads the club in homers and RBIs, while Cabrera leads in in average and ranks a close second to Francoeur in homers and RBIs. Club officials appear increasingly unlikely to trade either one. In fact, they say little is stirring, period, on the trade front.

That hesitancy regarding Cabrera and Francoeur is due, in part, to both being young enough to fit into the ongoing youth movement. Francoeur is 27, and Cabrera will turn 27 in August."