Kansas City Royals Cut Chris Getz, Tender Contracts to Eight Others

Jun 2, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Chris Getz (17) throws the ball to first base during the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Chris Getz Era in Kansas City is officially over after four seasons. Getz was the only one of nine arbitration eligible players to not receive a contract tender before last night’s 11 p.m. deadline, which means Getz is now officially a free agent.

Via Bob Dutton:

"The Royals provided Getz with numerous chances to establish himself as their regular second baseman, but he struggled to do so because of injuries and limited production."

Other arbitration-eligible players who received tenders include Eric Hosmer, Emilio Bonifacio, Justin Maxwell, Brett Hayes, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Luke Hochevar and Greg Holland. Dayton Moore has never gone to arbitration with any player in his tenure with the Royals, so he’ll have his work cut out for him if he is going to reach agreements with all eight players before their arbitration dates in January and February.

Former Royals Derrick Robinson and Elliot Johnson were each non-tendered Monday.

Getz was not the only player to be released from his team yesterday, and some of those names could be intriguing ones for the Royals. Catcher J.P. Arencibia, third baseman Mat Gamel, and starting pitchers Tommy Hanson and Daniel Hudson.

Like anyone who is non-tendered there are generally very good reasons why a team has chosen to not hold on to that player. In Arencibia’s case, he batted just .194/.227/.365 last season as Toronto’s every day catcher. A .227 on-base simply is not going to fly. However, Arencibia brings a lot of power and a decent glove with him. He’s hit 62 home runs in the last three seasons for the Blue Jays and is a slightly above average defensive catcher (when he’s not being asked to cut down base stealer). Arencibia could be a good option to bring off the bench if he cannot land a starting gig somewhere else.

Gamel was a former top prospect who could never get things figured out at the big leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has 105 career minor league home runs with a .304/.376/.498 slash line, but he’s been awful at the major league level (.229/.305/.367, 6 HR in 269 PA).

A few things could make him a fit for the Royals. First he has power and plays the corner infield positions and a little bit of left field. He’s only 28 and he could provide insurance for Mike Moustakas should Moose not be able to get it together. Gamel is definitely a flier, but he could be a diamond in the rough given his prospect history and minor league numbers.

Pitchers Hanson and Hudson could be interesting bounce-back signings for the Royals if their medicals look okay. Both pitchers have been dealing with arm injuries for the last few seasons but both are young and have great upside with healthy. Hanson is 27 and had a 3.28 ERA, 1.175 WHIP, and 431 strikeouts in 460.1 innings in his first three big league seasons before coming down with shoulder problems. He made just 13 starts for the Angels last season after being traded for from the Braves.

Hudson will be 27 in March and was very good for the Diamondbacks in 2011. That season he threw 222 innings, striking out 169 batters while accumulating a 1.203 WHIP. The season before he started just 11 games after being traded by the White Sox but went 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 79.2 innings.

Injuries derailed his 2012 seasons after only nine starts and he missed all of 2013 recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. The interesting thing here is Hudson will likely miss most of 2014 because of his elbow, so what kind of deal could the Royals get him for? By no means is he a guy like Josh Johnson, but this could be a lightning in a bottle scenario for the right deal.