Royals Rumors: Darren O’Day A Possible Target
By Alec Tilson
The Kansas City Royals look to reload this offseason, and relief pitching will be a priority.
It’s free agent season for the 2015 World Series winners. KC Royals rumors are here as Kansas City is busy looking to make the defending champions even stronger in 2016.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com speculates that O’Day will draw a three-year, $25 million contract this offseason. That seems rich for the Royals blood, but O’Day has basically been spectacular for four years in row now.
From 2012-2015, in 273 games, O’Day is 23-8 with a 1.92 ERA, 12 saves and a 9.7 K/9. He’s allowed 24 home runs during that time, which sounds like more than it is, averaging six home runs allowed per 162 games.
The KC Royals are one of at least a handful of teams interested in reliever Darren O’Day, according to Heyman:
Interest is steep in darren o'day. red sox, tigers, nats, dodgers, royals, cubs all in.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 9, 2015
For the KC Royals, O’Day could slide into the eighth-inning role if Madson walks, or the seventh-inning role if Kelvin Herrera takes another step forward.
He’s got a crazy submarine delivery, and at 6′ 4″, 220 pounds, it makes for a dominant late-inning force. Described by Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun:
"He swings it around to the plate at about knee-level, prompting ribbing from teammates that he’s a glorified softball pitcher. Throughout his career, his fastball has averaged just 86 mph."
Last season, O’Day’s fastball averaged 87.1 MPH, according to FanGraphs.com, and yet he struck out 11.30 per-nine innings. That’s a serious strikeout-rate for someone who doesn’t touch 90 MPH.
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The market is going to be crowded for a dominant right-handed reliever. Especially among those up-and-coming teams who maybe don’t have the bullpen that the Royals have. Still, the Royals have built a foundation on an elite bullpen and defense, and it seems like it’d be as good of a baseball fit as anywhere for O’Day.
As of now, the Royals’ bullpen could lose Chris Young, Ryan Madson and Franklin Morales to free agency. That leaves Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Luke Hochevar as the three primary relievers on paper. That doesn’t include Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen, who could figure into the starting rotation. That also doesn’t account for Miguel Almonte.
There might be cheaper options on the free agent market, but there might not be a better plug-and-play right-handed reliever out there.
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The Kansas City Royals would have to really want O’Day to sign him. Boston? Detroit? Chicago? Washington? Los Angeles? It’s either going to be a bidding war for his services, or O’Day already knows where he wants to play next season. The way he’s pitched the past four seasons, he’ll be an impact reliever for whichever team he signs with.