Kansas City Royals: Offseason Outlook
By Paul York
Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Conclusion
As I was saying, it’s a tough market out there. There are certainly some guys out there who could improve this team, but, as always, the Royals need to be cautious about who they’re doling out money to.
If I were the GM, I’d be giving some very serious consideration to bringing back Nori Aoki. I can’t believe I just said that. Aoki was great in the second half of 2014, and shouldn’t command an absurd amount of money.
Even if Aoki returns, which I suspect he might, I think you still need to sign a guy from each list I’ve provided. Just for fun, if the Royals were to sign my favorites (the ones I think are at least somewhat realistic for the Royals), let’s see how that 2015 lineup/rotation might look.
(My)Lineup:
1. Nori Aoki, RF
2. Lorenzo Cain, CF
3. Pablo Sandoval, 3b
4. Alex Gordon, LF
5. Mike Morse, DH
6. Eric Hosmer, 1b
7. Sal Perez, C
8. Alcides Escobar, SS
9. Omar Infante, 2b
Rotation: 1. Yordano Ventura, 2. Danny Duffy, 3. Brandon McCarthy, 4. Jason Vargas, 5. Jeremy Guthrie
To me, that looks like a significantly better team, and doesn’t take away from any of our strengths–starting pitching, bullpen, and defense, all while adding a marked uptick in offensive production.
I realize rumors have started to swirl around Torii Hunter as well. I’m not necessarily for that move, but I wouldn’t hate it either. To me, that ship sailed back in 2008 when the Royals tried to sign him as a free agent, but he chose the Angels instead. If the Royals would be getting 2008 Torii Hunter, that’d be great. Instead, they’d be getting a 40 year-old with diminishing defensive and on-base skills.
Personally, I believe you’d get more production out of a player like Morse, but Hunter may be attractive to the Royals as he could also play some right field from time to time.
Anyway, I thought this might be something fun to look at as we await the most important offseason in 29 years. I’m a firm believer that you don’t/shouldn’t build your team through free agency, rather you enhance your team through free agency. The parts are there to do just that. The question will be if the money is there.
**NOTE: Signing a player who has been extended a qualifying offer flies in the face of what the Kansas City Royals try to do–build within, but since they’re likely to gain an additional pick due to the departure of James Shields, the difference may be negligible.
Player stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.