KC Royals: 2016 Free Agency Options For The Royals

The Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Series Champions. Who might be some role players the Champs may want to look at the off-season?

The KC Royals sealed up their World Series victory on Sunday night as they beat the New York Mets 7-2 in an extra inning game to decide the series.

Kansas City won the title just one year after losing in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Last year was a huge disappointment that the Royals didn’t end up winning the series, but all is forgiven with this year’s championship run.

Now that the Royals finally won their first title in 30 years, it is clear that owner David Glass and general manager Dayton Moore want to be in the same situation next year.

Going to two straight World Series could be just the beginning of what could be the first “dynasty” in Royals’ history.

Kansas City looks like they will be good again in 2016, as they don’t have many key, starting players that have contracts that expire this postseason. Some of the key players whose contract do expire include:

2B Ben Zobrist

SP Chris Young

SP Johnny Cueto

LF Alex Gordon

All four of the guys listed above deserve a pay raise, as they all showed up in different ways throughout the postseason and in the World Series as well.

More from KC Kingdom

The Royals’ front office and Dayton Moore probably want to bring back Zobrist and Young for sure, as they will likely be the cheapest options out of the four, but Alex Gordon (being a career-long Royal) surely wants to be back in KC, and the fans want him to be here as well.

Hopefully the numbers align and Moore will bring back the 2007 first round draft pick for the Royals for another championship run.

Now, next up for the Royals after they are done with all their championship festivities is to make sure this team stays on top by bringing in some new talent. Last year, Dayton Moore and co. added Kendrys Morales, Ben Zobrist, Johnny Cueto, and others via free agency and trades throughout the season, and in 2016 to stay on top, they will likely have to do the same thing.

Some of the players that I could see the Royals going after who are scheduled to be free agents this offseason are guys like:

OF David DeJesus

David DeJesus finished last season with the Anaheim Angels. After spending the first eight years of his MLB career with the Royals, he has bounced around the league and has been with 8 other teams.

He would be a good option as a reserve outfielder and would fit well in the clubhouse and would likely come at a largely discounted rate than current right fielder Alex Rios will likely be. Also, DeJesus was one of the fan favorites when he was here in Kansas City, and I’m sure fans would embrace him again if Dayton Moore decided to bring him back for a ninth season with the Royals.

SP Mark Buehrle

Mark Buehrle is one of the best starting pitchers in the Chicago White Sox’ history. He spent 12 season with Chicago, and has his moments looking like one of, if not the best pitcher in baseball. He threw for no-hitters, shutouts, and was always competitive in his time with the White Sox where he obviously played the Royals a lot, sharing the same division.

The Royals have already shown that they are okay with bringing in older players to surround their very talented nucleus of younger players to help get them to where they need to be, think Chris Young, Zobrist, etc.

Buehrle would be a nice addition to the Royals’ starting rotation, and would likely fit somewhere near the back end of their opening day rotation if they do end up pulling the trigger on signing him.

SP Aaron Harang

Aaron Harang has been in major league baseball for a long time and is now 38 years of age. Like Buehrle above, Harang would be a great addition to the later side of the starting rotation for the Royals and wouldn’t have a large price tag to come with him.

He has been a solid pitcher for many years in the MLB and he would be a great addition if they decide not to bring back (or can’t bring back) guys like Cueto, Young, and Jeremy Guthrie, who all are scheduled to be free agents, or have a player/team option coming up this offseason.

Next: Who Will Be Back For The Royals in 2016?

This offseason should be a doozy for Royals’ nation, but it should be fun as it looks like now they will be good again come next postseason. Be sure to watch Royals’ headlines this offseason as you continue to celebrate their first championship in 30 LONG years!

Home/Kansas City Royals